JK 251 
.B3 
1894 




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FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW 



ABOUT THE 



6~4 7 



GOVERNMENT OF II BUM 



BY 



WILLIAM H. BARTLETT, 

Principal of the Chandler Street School, 
Worcester, Mass. 



This government, the offspring of your own choice, 
. . . adopted upon full investigation and mature delib- 
eration, completely free in its principles, . . . and con- 
taining within itself a provision for its own amend- 
ment, has a just claim to your confidence and respect — 
Washington's Farewell Address. m. , , 



WORCESTER. MASS.: 
PRESS OF CHARLES HAMILTON, 

1894. 



3 



Copyright 1894. 

by 

William H. Bartlett. 



dedicated to 

YOUNG AMERICANS 

ON WHOSE 

LOVE AND LOYALTY 

DEPEND THE 

PRESERVATION AND STABILITY 

OF THE 
BEST GOVERNMENT ON EARTH. 



PREFACE. 



The general scope and purpose of this book are in- 
dicated by the title. The aim of the writer has been 
to prepare such a work as an American father might 
wish to place in the hands of his son, or an American 
teacher in the hands of his pupils, to serve as the 
basis of a complete knowledge of the facts and prin- 
ciples of the government of the United States. 

The mission of this volume is to give in an economi- 
cal and compact form, and in clear and concise lan- 
guage, the gist of the information contained in many 
larger works. 

The contents include a review of the nature and 
origin of our government, an explanation of the most 
'important portions of the Constitution, a summary 
of the rights and duties of citizenship, the text of the 
Constitution, a Glossary which defines such terms 
used in the Constitution as may not be readily under- 
stood, the history of the flag, valuable statistical 
tables, a series of "Search Light" questions cal- 
culated to arouse the interest of the reader and to 
stimulate him to research, and a list of works on 
government, suitable for perusal or reference. 

It is hoped that this book will be a boon to pupils 
in our schools, a valuable addition to the resources 
of teachers, a useful guide to the members of young- 
people's societies now so extensively organizing for 
the study of government, a friend to the foreign born 
in our midst who have the American spirit and desire 
a knowledge of our form of government, and a con- 
venient and practical hand-book of reference for ail 
inquirers concerning governmental topics. The book 
is committed to the kind consideration of all these 
classes in the hope that it may be found worthy of 
their favor. W. H. B. 

Worcester, Mass., Oct. 8, 1894. 



I N 1) E X 



Both the text of this book and the Constitution are here 
fully indexed. The numbers in the first column refer to 
sections of the text ; those in the second column to clauses 
of the Constitution, which for convenient reference are 
numbered throughout consecutively. The letter G. fol- 
lowing a title indicates that the subject is explained in the 
Glossary. 



Acts, Public 

Adjournment of Congress, 

Admission of new States, 

Affirmation, 

Agreement, 

Agriculture, Dept. of, 

Albany Convention, 

Alliance, 

Ambassadors, 

Amendment Defined, 

Amendment, Mode of, 

Amendments to bills, 

to Constitution, 

Appointments, 

Apportionment, 

Appropriations, 

Area and Population of U. S.,. .P. 146 

Aristocracy, 

Armies, . . ." 

Arms, Freedom to bear, 

Army, 

Arrest, 

Arsenal , : 

Articles of Confederation , 

Assembly, Freedom of, 



S. 



c. 



150 


73 


72, 78, 135 


17, 20, 24, 




25,65 


153 


77 


59, 162 13,61,83,88 




54 


129 




13 




104 


52 


132, 136 


63, 65, 68, 




69 


165 




159 


80 




23 


165-198 


85-107 


132 


9,41,63,64 


36-38, 195 


5,102 


102 


37,50 


5 




96 


37 


170 


86 




62 


80 


21 


97 


42 


18, r.) 




169 


85 



vm. 



FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 



s. 



Attainder, Bill of , 

of treason, G. 

Bail, 

Bankru ptcies, G. 

Basis of representation, G. 

Bill Defined, 

how may become a law, 

of attainder, 

of rights, 

Bills of credit, 

revenue, 

Both Houses, 

Bounties, G. 

Breach of the peace, 

Briber}, 

Cabinet, President's, 

Capital, 

Capital Crime, G. 

Capitation tax, G. 

Captures, G, 

Casting Vote, 

Census or enumeration, 

Cession, G, 

Charter, 

Chief Justice, 

Citizen, Duties of the, 

Obligation of the, 

Citizens, 

Rights of, 

Citzenship, 

Civil officers, Removal of, 

Clear, G 

Coinage, 

Colonial Governments, 

Colonies, First Union of, 

Original, 

Colony, 

Commander-in-Chief, 

Commerce, 

Commission, G 



100 


46, 52 




72 


186 


92 




29 


38-40, 195 


5, 102 


82 




84 


24 


100 


46, 52 


166 




106 


52 


83 


23 


65-69 


17-20 




104 


80 


21 


138 


66 


129 




97 






89 




47 




36 


57 




40 


5,47 




42 


10 




60,142,144 


13 


200 




4 






68, 74, 95, 




101, 102, 




106 


199 




151, 195, 


101 


199, 200 




138 


66 




49 


92, 105 


30, 31, 52 


10,11 




12 




9 




8 




128 


62 


89 


28 




65 



INDEX. 



IX. 



Committees, 

Compact, 

Compensation, 

Compulsory process, G. 

Confederation, 

Articles of, 

Congress, 

Adjournment, 



Assembling of, 

attendance, 

compensation, 

Continental, First, 

Continental, Second, 

Division, 

elections, 

end, 

exclusive legislation, 

extra sessions, 

First, 

General Power, 

Journal, 

members, 

Membership, 

Orders, etc., of, 

Powers of, 

quorum, 

rules, 

Sessions, 

Stamp Act, 

Constitution, , P. 90 

Authority of, 

Defined, 

Establishment, 

Formation, 

Mode of Amendment, 

oath to support, 

Preamble, 

Purposes, 

Ratification, 

Supremacy of, 

Constitutional" Convention, 

Consuls, 



45,58 

79 
182 
104 
18,19 
27-29 
72, 78, 135 

68 
72 

34, 50, 79 

15 

16 

28,29 

66, 67, 70 

97 
134 

42 

98 

75,76 

79-81 
70 1 

86 

87-98 

?! 

69, 134 
14 



C. 



54 

21,60,67,89 

90 

52 



17, 20, 24, 
25,65 

16 
17 
21 



2 
15,17 

42 
65 

43 

19 

18, 19, 22 

25 

26-43 

17 

18 



24 

20 

21, 164 

21 

159 

162 

23 

25 

21, 164 

160-163 

21 

132 63,68,69 



84 

80 

61,83 

1 

84 

82 



X. 



FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 



C. 



Consuls general, 

Contracts, 

Convention, Albany, 

Constitutional,^ 

Copyrights, 

Corruption of Blood, G. 

Counsel, 

Counterfeiting, G. 

Court, Supreme, 

Courts, Inferior, 

United States, 

Criminal prosecutions, 

Trials, 

Criminals, Fugitive, 

Current Coin, G. 

Customs, 

Debt, Public, 

Department, Executive, 

Judicial , 

Legislative, 

of Agriculture, 

of the Interior, 

of Justice, 

of the Navy, 

Post-Office, 

of State, 

of the Treasury, 

of War, ." 

Departments, Executive, 

Departments of the Government, .... 

Direct taxes, 

Disabilities, political, 

District, G. 

Districts , Congressional , 

Dock-yards, 

Domain, eminent, 

Duties , 

Export, 

Duties of the Citizen, 

of the President, 



132 




108 


52 


13 




21 




94 


33 




72 


183 


90 




31 


142 


34, 63, 67, 




69 


141 


67 


139-144 


67-69 


178-183 


90 


146 


70, 89, 90 


152 


75 




31 


87 




88,160,197 


26, 52, 81, 
104 
55-66 


26,110-138 


26,139-149 


67-72 


26, 27-109 


2-54 


129 




129 




129 




129 




129 




129 




129 




129 






62 


26 




36 


5,47 


196 


103 


97, 179 


42, 90 


38 




97 


42 


177 




87 


26, 49, 53, 




54 


101 


48,53 


200 




133-137 


65 



INDEX. 



XI. 



Duty of Tonnage, G. 

Electoral College, 

Count, 

Electors, G. 

Presidential, G. 

Eminent domain, 

Emolument, G. 

Engagements, G. 

Enter, G. 

Equal Suffrage, 

Equity G. 

Excises 

Execution of the Laws, 

Executive authority, 

Department, 

Power, 

sessions, 

Expenditures, 

Export Duties, 

Ex post facto law, 

Extra Sessions, 

Felonies, 

Felony, 

Filibustering, 

Fines, 

First Congress, 

Continental Congress, 

Union of Colonies, 

Flag. History of the, P. 150 

Forfeiture, . • G. 

Form of State governments, 

Forms of National Government, 

Forts, 

Freedom from Quartering of soldiers, 

from Searches and Seizures, 

of Assembly, 

of Petition, 

of the Press, 

of Religion, 

of Speech, » 

to bear Arms, 

Fugitive Criminals, 



S. 



157 



C. 







54 


114 






125 




3 


113-116 


56, 


57, 96, 




97, 


102, 103 


177 




51,60 

81 
49 
80 

68,95 


87 




26 


137 




65 


43 




6,75 


26,110-138 




55-66 


110 




55 


132 






102 




50 


101 




48, 53 


100 




46,52 


134 




65 
35 


80 




21 


77 






187 




92 


42 






15 






12 







42 



171 


87 


172 


88 


169 


85 


169 


85 


168 


85 


167 


85 


168 


85 


170 


86 


152 


75 



Xll. 



FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 



s. 



Fugitives from service, 

Gerrymandering, 

Glossary, P. 122 

Government, Charter, 

Departments of the, 

during the Revolution, 

Forms of, 

National, P. 1 

Obligations of the, 

of the United States, 

Preservation of, 

Proprietary, 

Provincial ," 

Purpose of, 

Seat of 

under the Constitution, P. 11 

Governments, Colonial, 

Grand jury, 

Guarantee to the States, . » 

Habeas Corpus, 

Heads of departments, 

Held to Answer, G. 

High crimes and misdemeanors, 

High seas, 

House of Representatives, 

quorum, 

Sole Power, 

Speaker, 

Vacancies, 

Houses, Both, 

How the Laws are made, 

Immunities, G. 

Impeachment, 

Conviction, 

Judgment, 

of President Johnson , 

Power of, 

Imposts, 

Indictment, 

Indirect Taxes, 

Inferior Courts, 

Insurrections, 



10 




26 




17 




5,157 




2, 1-22 




160 




6 




10 




10 




3 






42 


23-200 




10,11 




173 


89 


157, 158 


79 


99 


• 45 


129 


62 




89 


138 


66 


146 


35 


30-46 


3-7 


42 


17 


46 


7 


45 


t 


43,44 


6 


65-69 


17-20 


82-86 


24,25 




74, 101 


59-64 


7, 13, 14, 




62, 66, 70 


61 


13 


62 


14 


64 




63 




87 


26,53 


173 


89 


36 




141 


67 



INDEX. 



Xlll. 



Intents and Purposes, G 

Interior, Department of the, 

Inter-State commerce, 

Invasions, 

Involuntary Servitude, . . . . G. 

Jeopardy of Life and Limb, G. 

Journal of Congress, 

Judges, 

Judgment, G. 

Judicial Department, 

Power, 

power limited, 

proceedings, 

Judiciary, Duty of the, 

Jurisdiction, . . I G 

admiralty, G 

appellate, G. 

maritime, G. 

original, G. 

Jury, grand, 

trial by,. 

Justice, Department of, 

Justices of Supreme Court, 

appointment, 

Salaries, 

Term 

Laud forces, 

Law, Common, G. 

" due process "of, 

ex post facto, 

of Nations, G. 

Supreme, 

Laws, Inspection, .G. 

Legal tender, 

Legislative Department, 

Powers, 

Letters of Marque and Reprisal,. . .G. 
List of Reference Books....... P. 147 

Magazine, 

Majority, 

Memorable Dates, P. 149 



129 

89 



75, 76 
132 



26,139-149 
139, 145 
191 



C. 



80 



40, 79 
99 

89 

19 

63, 67, 82 

14 

67-72 

67,68 

95 

73 



150 
140| 

145 68, 69, 99, 
101 

68 



146, 

185 



173 



68 
69 

89 



184,1 70,90,91 

129 
142 
132 
144 
143 






39,89 
91 



100 


46,52 




35 


161 


82 




53 


107 


52 


26, 27-109 


2-54 


27 


2 


i 


36,52 


97 


42 


71, 120 17,56,96,97 



XIV. 



FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 



Mileage, 

Militia, G. 

Ministers, Public, 

Minority, 

Minority Presidents, 

Mode of Amendment, 

Monarchy, 

Money, 

Nation Defined, 

Origin of the, 

National Government, P. 1 

Natural Born Citizen, G. 

Naturalization, 

Naval forces, 

Navy, 

N. E. , United Colonies of, 

New States and Territories, 

Nobilitv, Titles of, 

Oath, 

of allegiance, 

of President, 

to support the Constitution, 

Obligation of the Citizen, 

Obligations of the Government, 

Office, Removal from, 

Open Court, 

Orders, etc., of Congress, 

Original Colonies, 

Domain and Acquisitions,. P. 145 

Overt act, 

Pairing, 

Pardons, 

Parliament, 

Patents, 

Pensions, G. 

Persons Bouud to Service, G. 

Petition, Freedom of, 

Piracies, G. 

Plurality, 

Political disabilities, 

Popular Vote, 

Post-Office Department, 



C. 



34 






40, 62, 86 


132, 136 


63,65,68,69 


71, 120 




120 




159 


80 







88, 92, 105 


27. 30, 50, 




52 


1 




8 




2, 1-22 






58 


90,91 






39, 89 


96 


38, 62 


12 




153-156 


77, 7S 


91,103 


51,52 


59, 162 

91 

127 


13,61,83,88 


61 


162 


83 


4 




160 




74, 138 


18,66 


148 


71 


86 


25 


9 




148 


71 


73 




130 


62 


14 




94 


33 




104 




5 


169 


85 




35 


120 




196 


103 


120 




129 





INDEX. 



XV. 



Post-Offices, 

Post-roads, 

Power, Executive, 

Judicial, 

of Taxation, 

Veto, 

Powers, Legislative, 

denied to theU. S., 

denied to the States, 

of Congress, 

of each House, 

of the President, 

Reserved, 

Presentment, 

President and Vice-President,. 
President : 

Commander-in-Chief, 

Disputed Election of, 

Duties, 

Election, 

E lection by House , 

Inauguration, 

Powers, 

Qualifications, . 

Removal, 

Salarv, 

Term, 

Presidential Electors, 



Succession, 

President's Cabinet, 

Message 

Presidents, List of, P. 143 

Minority, , 

Press, Freedom of the, 

Privileges of Citizenship, 

Members of Congress, 

Property of the U. $.,.... 

private, 

Prosecutions, criminal, 

Public Acts, 

Debt, 



93 

93 

110 

139, 145 

87 

84, 85 

27 

99-103 

104-109 

87-98 

70-78 

128-132 

190 

173 

110-127 

128 
123 

133-137 

119, 192 
121 
127 

128-lo2 
117 
138 
112 
111 

113-116 

120 
129 
133 

120 

1G8 

151 

79-81 



150 
88,160,197 



C. 



32 
32 



67,68 

26 

24 

2 

44-51 

52-54 

26-43 

62-64 
94 
89 

55-61 

62 

65 

56,96 

96 

62-64 

5S 

59,66 

60 

55 

56, 57, 96. 

97,102.103 



65 



85 

74, 101 

21 

78 

89 

90 

73 

26, 52, 81, 

104 



XVI. 



FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 



C. 



Public Ministers,. 
Punishments, 
Quorum, ........ 



Ratification, 

Ratio of Representation, . . . 
Receipts and Expenditures, 

Recess, 

Records, State, 

Redress of Grievances, 

Relations of the States, 

Religion, Freedom of, 

Religious Test, 

Removal from Office, 

Representation, Basis of, 

Ratio of, 

Taxation and, 

Territorial, 

Representatives : 

Apportionment, 

at Large, 

Election, 

Number, 

Qualifications, 

Removal, 

Salary, 

Term, ... 

Reprieves, 

Requisition, 

Reserved Powers, 

Resolutions, 

Retained Rights, 

Returns, 

Revenue, 

Revolution. ... 

Rights, Bill of 

of Accused Persons, ... 

of Citizens, 

Retained, 

Searches and Seizures, 

Search Light Studies, 

Secession, 

Securities, 



.G. 



• P. 135 



.G. 



132, 136 

42,71,121, 

122 

21,164 

38-40 

52 
150 

150-158 

167 

163 

74, 138 

38-40, 195 

38-40 

37 

41 

36-38, 195 

31 

30 

39,42 

35 

74 

34 

33 

130 

152 

190 

86 

189 

70 

83 

15 

160 

173-183 

199 

189 

172 

154 



63,65,68,69 
92 

56, 96, 

)7 

80, 84 

50 

9 

73 

85 

73-79 

85 

83 

18, 66 

5. 102 



5. 102 

3, 15, 17 
5 
4 

18 

21 

3 

62 

94 
25 
93 
17 
23, 49 



90 

93 
88 



31 



INDEX. 



XV11. 



Senate, 

Committees, 

How Composed, 

President of, 

President pro tern., 

Rules, 

Sole Power, 

Vacancies, 

Senators, Classification, 

Election, 

Number, 

Qualifications, 

Removal, 

Salary, 

Term, 

Servitude, Involuntary, G. 

Sessions of Congress, 

Slave, G. 

Slavery, G. 

Speaker, 

Speech, Freedom of, 

Stamp Act, 

Congress, . 

Standard of Weights and Measures,G. 
States and the Union, P. 144 

Formation of, 

Guarantee to the, 

New, and Territories, 

Powers Denied to the, 

Records, 

Relations of the, 

Suffrage, , 

Summary, , 

Supreme" Court, , 

Law, , 

Tariff, 

Taxation, Power of, 

and Representation, 

Taxes, 

direct, , 

indirect, 

Tender, Legal, 

Territorial Representation, ■ 



S. 



47-64 


8-14 


58 




47 


8 


55 


11 


56 


12 




18 


59 


13 


52 


9 


51 


9 


48 


8, 9, 15, 17 


47, 54 


8 


53 


10 


74 


18 


50 


21 


49 


8 




99 


69, 134 






104 


194 


99 


45 


7 


168 


85 


14 




14 






30 


155 


77 


157, 158 


79 


153-156 


77,78 


104-109 


52-54 


150 


73 


150-158 


73-79 


198 


80, 106 


22 




142 


34,63,67,69 


161 


82 


89 




87 


26 


37 




36 


26 


36 


5,47 


36 




107 


52 


41 





XVlll. 



FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 



S. 



c. 



Territories, 

Territory, 

Test, Religious, .. 
Titles of nobility, 

Treason, 

Treason, Defined,. 

Conviction, ... 

Punishment, . 

Treaties, 

Treaty, 

Trial "by jury, .... 



.P. 145 



Trials, Criminal,. 
Two-thirds vote,. 



U. S. Area and Population, - 
United States Courts, 

Powers denied to the, . 

Property of, 

Vacancies in House, 

Senate, 

Vacancy in Presidency, . . . 
Veto, pocket, 

Power, 

Vice-President, Election, . . . 

Election by Senate, ... 

Qualifications, 

Removal. 

Salarv, 

Term. 

Vote, Popular, 

Two-thirds, 



.P. 146 



Votes of Congress,... 
War 

Department, 

Power, 

Warrants, 

Writ, 

of election, 

of habeas corpus,. 
Yeas and Navs, 



15b 






41 




78 


163 




83 


91, 103 




51, 52 


147-149 




71, 72 


147 




71 


148 




71 


149, 196 




72 


104, 131 


63 


, 68, 82 


104 




52 


146, 184. 


70 


, 90, 91 


185 






146 


70 


, S9, 90 


61, 74, 84, 


13, 


18, 24, 


159, 196 


63, 


80, 103 


139-144 




67-69 


99-103 




44-51 

78 


43,44 




6 


52 




9 


126 




59. 96 


84 






84.85 




24 


119 


56 


, 96, 97 


122 




97 


117 




98 


138 




m 


118 






117 




55 


T20 






61, 74, 84. 


13. 


IS. 24. 


159, 196 


63, 


SO, 103 


N6 




25 


95 


36 


54. 71 


129 






109 






172 




■ 88 


99 




6 


99 




45 


76 




19.24 



THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 



ITS NATURE AND ORIGIN. 



1. Nation Defined. — A nation is a people 
living in a country which they hold as their own, 
and united under a government which has control 
over that country and all its inhabitants. 

2. National Government. — National 
government is the power or authority by which 
a nation is ruled. 

3. Purpose of Government. — Civilized 
government is established for the protection, 
prosperity, and happiness of the people. 

4. Obligation of the Citizen. — Each 
citizen must pay his share of the expenses of the 
government, and must give his personal service 
in its defence when necessary. 

5. Forms of National Government. 
— 1. A monarchy is a government by one 

person. 

1 



2 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

A monarchy in which the power of the ruler is restricted 
by a constitution is called a constitutional or limited mon- 
archy. An absolute monarchy is one in which the power 
of the ruler is not so restricted. 

2. An aristocracy is a government by a few 
persons who form a privileged class. 

An aristocracy may be one of birth, wealth, or culture. 

3. A democracy is a government by the 
people. 

A pure democracy is one in which the people meet and 
make laws. A representative democracy is one in which 
the people elect representatives to make laws. 

6. Government of the United States. 

— The government of the United States is a 
representative democracy, usually called a re- 
public. 

7. Preservation of Republican Gov- 
ernment. — Republics are preserved only by 
the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the 
people. 

8. Origin of the Nation. — The Nation 
was formed by the union, and separation from the 
mother-country, of the thirteen British colonies 
which existed here at the time of the Revolution. 

A colony is a company of persons who have left their 
own country and have settled in another, but who still 
remain subject to the government of the country from 
which they came. 



THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 6 

9. Original Colonies with Dates of 
Settlement. — 



Virginia, 


1607 


Massachusetts, 


1620 


New Hampshire, 


1623 


New York, 


1623 


Connecticut, 


1633 


Maryland, 


1634 


Rhode Island, 


1636 


Delaware, 


1638 


North Carolina, 


1663 


New Jersey, 


1664 


South Carolina, 


1670 


Pennsylvania, 


1682 


Georgia, 


1733 



1 0. Colonial Governments. — The special 
forms of government of the colonies before the 
Revolution were Provincial or Royal, Proprietary, 
and Charter. * 

1. The Provincial or Royal governments were 
under the direct control of the King, who ap- 
pointed for each a governor, and a council which 
formed the upper house of the legislature. The 
people elected only the lower house, and there- 
fore had little voice in the government. The 



4 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

relation of these colonies to Great Britain was 
much like that of our territories to the Nation. 

2. The Proprietary governments were under 
the direct control of proprietors, to whom the 
land, with the right to govern the settlers, had 
been granted by the King. The proprietors ap- 
pointed governors, and, in some cases, convened 
legislatures. But the supreme authority of the 
mother-country was strictly maintained. 

3. In the Charter governments much more 
power was given to the people. They were 
granted charters by the King which gave them 
power to elect their own officers and to make 
their own laws. 

A charter is a grant made by a monarch to the whole or 
to a portion of his subjects, giving them certain rights and 
privileges. 

Massachusetts after 1691 was under a modified charter 
which vested the appointment of governor in the King. 
In this respect it was like a Provincial government. 

11. Colonial Governments at the 
Commencement of the Revolution. — 

Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland were 
held by the heirs of the first proprietors, Con- 
necticut and Rhode Island had kept their charters, 
Massachusetts had a modified charter, and the 
other colonies were royal provinces. 

Connecticut and Rhode Island were so content with the 
provisions of their charters that they lived under them 



THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 5 

until 1818 and 1842 respectively, in which years they formed 
State constitutions. 

12. First Union of Colonies.— In 1643 
Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New 
Haven united under the name of "The United 
Colonies of New England," for mutual protec- 
tion against the encroachments of the Dutch and 
French settlers and the hostility of the Indians. 
This union continued forty years. 

In the earliest years of our history there were those who 
realized that in union alone there is strength, and at various 
times during the seventeenth century plans for a general 
government were proposed by William Penn and others. 
None of these projects, however, received the approval of 
the British government. 

13. Albany Convention. — Delegates 
from all the colonies north of the Potomac met 
in convention at Albany, N. Y., in 1754, to con- 
sider measures of defence against the French and 
Indians. In this convention Benjamin Franklin, 
whose motto was u Unite or die!" proposed a 
plan for a general government of all the colonies, 
to consist of a governor-general to be appointed 
by the King, and a council of delegates to be 
chosen by the colonies. Though adopted by the 
Convention, as neither the colonies nor the 
mother-country approved this plan, it did not go 
into operation. 

14. Stamp Act Congress. — In 1765 a 



b FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

congress of delegates from nine colonies met at 
New York and prepared a declaration of rights, 
and petitions to the King and Parliament pray- 
ing that these rights might be respected. This 
was the first general meeting of the colonies for 
the purpose of considering their rights and privi- 
leges. 

This Congress is called the u Stamp Act Con- 
gress," as the passage of that act by Parliament 
was the immediate cause of its assembling. 

Parliament is the law-making body of Great Britain. 

The Stamp Act required that stamps, bought of the 
British government, should be placed on all legal docu- 
ments, newspapers, and pamphlets. The colonists, having 
no voice in Parliament, were indignant at this attempt at 
taxation without representation, and so loud was the out- 
cry against it that Parliament soon repealed it, but still 
declared the right of Great Britain to tax the colonies, and 
passed other measures not less odious. 

15. First Continental Congress. — 

This Congress, composed of delegates from all 
the colonies except Georgia, met at Philadelphia, 
September 5, 1774, and again asserted the rights 
claimed by the previous Congress and demanded 
the repeal of all laws by which those rights had 
been invaded. 

These remonstrances were unheeded by Great 
Britain. ''Repeated petitions were answered by 
repeated injuries," and the colonists determined 



THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 7 

to resist the execution of unjust and oppressive 
laws. There was no longer hope of reconcilia- 
tion, and war and revolution became inevitable. 
A revolution is a radical change in the government of a 
country. It iuvolves the overthrow of an existing govern- 
ment and the establishment of one different in character. 

16. Second Continental Congress. — 

This Congress assembled at Philadelphia, May 10, 
1775, all the colonies being represented. This 
body provided for organizing the Revolutionary 
army, unanimously electing George Washington 
Commander-in-chief. After debating the quest- 
ion of separation from Great Britain with great 
energy, eloquence, and ability, on the fourth day 
of July, 1776, this Congress adopted the Declara- 
tion of Independence. Thenceforth the name 
' ' United Colonies " gave place to that of ' ' The 
United States of America." 

17. Government during the Revolu- 
tion. — Each State had its own government. 
The only general government was that of the 
Second Continental Congress, which exercised 
supreme powers until 1781, when the Articles of 
Confederation were adopted. 

18. Articles of Confederation. — These 
articles were an instrument which formed the 
basis of government for the United States from 
1781 to 1789, and which aimed to unite the 



o FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

States in a league to secure their liberties and 
mutual welfare. These articles were wrong in 
theory and proved worthless in practice. 

19. Defects of the Articles of Con- 
federation. — No separate executive or judicial 
department was provided. Congress had little 
more than the power to recommend measures to 
the States. It could not lay taxes, regulate com- 
merce, enforce the provisions of treaties, raise 
revenue, nor protect the States against rebellion. 
Congress had power "to declare everything but 
to do nothing." Shays's Rebellion in Massa- 
chusetts and the fear of similar outbreaks else- 
where, which the general government had no 
power to suppress, showed the weakness of the 
Confederation. Washington, Hamilton, and 
other leaders saw that ' ' to form a new constitu- 
tion which should give stability and dignity to 
the Union was the great problem of the times." 

20. Constitution Defined. — A constitu- 
tion is an instrument or compact which prescribes 
the form of government for a country, declares 
the rights of the people who adopt it, and fixes 
the powers and duties of the departments of the 
government. 

Constitutions may be written or unwritten. 
England has an unwritten constitution, which 



THE NATIONAL (iOVERNMENT. 9 

consists of established customs, charters, and a 
multitude of laws and judicial decisions. Such 
constitutions are liable to changes by legislation 
establishing new principles of government with- 
out the previous consent of the people. The 
wisdom of the founders of our government led 
them to form a written constitution, subject to 
change only by the deliberate action of the people. 
21. Formation of the Constitution. — 
The Constitutional Convention, comprising dele- 
gates from all the States except Rhode Island, 
met at Philadelphia, May 14, 1787. Washing- 
ton, was chosen president. The Convention con- 
tained many men eminent for their ability and 
patriotism. The work before them was to form 
a complete system of republican government. 
The Convention held secret sessions for more 
than three months, discussing and settling the 
difficult questions that arose from the jealousies 
existing among the several States. On the seven- 
teenth of September the Constitution was adopted 
by the Convention. Its ratification by nine States 
was declared to be sufficient for its establishment. 
When the Constitution was submitted to the peo- 
ple for their approval before the assembling of 
State conventions to decide upon it, a great con- 
test arose, which was carried on by two parties 



10 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

that were immediately formed, — the Federalist 
and Anti-Federalist. The former, desiring a 
strong national government, supported the Con- 
stitution, while the latter, favoring a confederate 
government which should allow the States to 
retain more power than the Constitution gave 
them, opposed it. The people finally accepted the 
Constitution as a bond of union. Its establish- 
ment was assured by its ratification by the ninth 
State, New Hampshire, June 21, 1788. Thus it 
was declared that the United States is a nation 
and not a confederacy. 

The Constitution went into legal operation on 
the fourth of March, 1789. Delaware was the 
first State to ratify it, December 7, 1787, and 
Rhode Island the last, May 29, 1790. 

22. Summary. — We have now seen that 
the idea of a union existed among the colonists 
from the earliest years of their history ; that 
from time to time they entered into loosely gov- 
erned leagues of friendship and confederacies 
for the general welfare ; that experience showed 
the weakness of such associations ; and that the 
interest and safety of all at last impelled them 
to form a ' ; more perfect union " under a consti- 
tutional government. 



THE CONSTITUTION PREAMBLE. 11 

GOVERNMENT 
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. 



23. Preamble. — The first sentence of the 
Constitution, usually called the preamble, is an 
introduction or preface to the body of the instru- 
ment. It states the source of the authority and 
sets forth the purposes of the Constitution. 

24. Authority of the Constitution. — 
The source of the authority of the Constitution 
is the people of the United States. 

25. Purposes of the Constitution. — 

1. To form a more perfect union. 

2. To establish justice. 

3. To insure domestic tranquillity. 

4. To provide for the common defence. 

5. To promote the general welfare. 

6. To secure the blessings of liberty to the 
people of the United States and their posterity. 

26. Departments of the Government. 
— The legislative department, which makes the 
laws, the executive department, which enforces* 
the laws, and the judicial department, which in- 
terprets the laws. 

Experience has shown this way of distributing 
the powers of government to be well adapted to 
secure public liberty and private rights. 



12 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

ARTICLE I. 

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section I. Congress. 

27. Legislative Powers. — All legisla- 
tive powers granted ia the Constitution are vested 
in a Congress of the United States. 

28. Division. — Congress consists of a 
Senate and House of Representatives. 

29. Reasons for Division. — 

1 . That both the people and the States may 
be duly represented. The Senate represents the 
States, and the House of Representatives the 
people. 

In the Constitutional Convention the small 
States threatened to oppose the whole plan of 
a new government, unless in one branch they 
might have equal votes with the large States. 

2. That each House may be a check on the 
other to prevent hasty and ill-considered legisla- 
tion. 

With two Houses each is likely to act with 
care and deliberation with the knowledge that 
its measures are subject to approval, revision or 
rejection by the other. 

The word House is frequently used to designate either 
of the legislative bodies. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 13 

Section II. The House of Representa- 
tives. 

30. Election. — Representatives are elected 
by the people of the several States. 

31. Representatives M at Ijarge."— The divis- 
ion of States into Congressional districts, each of which 
elects one Representative, is made by the State legislatures. 
In some instances one or more Representatives in addition 
to those chosen by the districts have been elected " at 
large," that is, by the people of the whole State. This has 
been done in States which have failed to rearrange their 
districts after a new apportionment has increased the num- 
ber of Representatives to which they are entitled. 

32. Gerrymandering.— It has been the general 
custom for the States to redistrict their populations soon 
after each new apportionment. It has sometimes happened 
that the political party in power in a State has divided the 
State into districts in such a way as to gain an unfair ad- 
vantage over the opposite party by securing a larger repre- 
sentation than its voting strength entitled it to have. Thus 
in a State which had been divided in this unjust manner a 
district was known as the " Shoe string" district because 
of its grotesque and artificial shape. This practice is termed 
gerrymandering. 

"The term ' gerrymandering' came into use in 1811, in 
Massachusetts. The State was districted anew in that year 
in such a manner by the party in power that those sections 
which gave the opposite party a large number of votes 
were brought into one district. The counties of Essex and 
Worcester were divided without any apparent convenience 
or propriety. The work was sanctioned and became law 
by the signature of Elbridge Gerry who was then governor* 
Hence the name."— BartleWs Dictionary of American- 
isms. 



14 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

33. Term.— The term of office of a Repre- 
sentative is two years. 

It is a fundamental principle of republican 
government that representatives shall be directly 
responsible to the people whose servants they are. 
In order that the people may have due opportuni- 
ties of showing their approval or disapproval of 
the conduct of their representatives, frequent 
elections are necessary. 

34. Salary. — The salary of a Representa- 
tive is $5,000 a year and mileage. 

Mileage is money allowed for travel at a certain rate per 
mile. Members of Congress are now allowed mileage at 
the rate of twenty cents a mile in going to and returning 
from the national capital. 

Each member has an allowance of $125 a year for station- 
ery and newspapers. 

35. Qualifications for a Representa- 
tive. — 

1 . He must be not less than twenty-five years 
of age. 

That he may have acquired the knowledge and 
experience necessary for the proper exercise of 
so important a trust. 

2. He must have been seven years a citizen 
of the United States. 

That he may be familiar with our institutions 
and may have a patriotic pride in sustaining them. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 15 

3. He must, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of the State in which he shall be chosen. 

That he may know the needs of his State. 
It is not required that a Representative shall reside in 
the district in which he shall be chosen. 

36. Apportionment. — Representatives 
and direct taxes are apportioned among the 
States according to their respective numbers, 
that is, in proportion to the population. 

Direct taxes are taxes laid directly on the per- 
son or property, as a poll tax, or a tax on land. 
They are so called to distinguish them from 
indirect taxes, as those levied on imported goods 
and on the productions of a country. Direct 
taxes are not regarded with favor by the people 
and are seldom levied. A direct tax was laid 
but four times by our government before the 
Civil War. To meet the enormous expense in- 
curred in the struggle for the Union, it was 
necessary to resort to direct taxation in 1861 
and subsequently. 

37. Taxation and Representation. — 
The rallying cry of the people during the Revo- 
lution was, "Taxation without representation is 
tyranny." The colonists had been taxed without 
their consent and this was one of the principal 
causes which impelled them to a change of gov- 



16 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

ernment. Remembering the experience of the 
people under an unjust system of taxation, the 
framers of the Constitution, by placing taxation 
and representation on the same basis as regards 
apportionment, designed to establish equality of 
taxation and representation as a principle of our 
government. 

This section was adopted only after a long 
and violent discussion. The States which had 
no slaves desired that slaves should not be num- 
bered in the representative population. The 
slave States wished all slaves to be counted. 
The matter was finally adjusted by a compromise 
which allowed three-fifths of the slave popula- 
tion to be so counted. The abolition of slavery 
having rendered this provision obsolete, it is of 
interest only as a matter of history. 

38. Ratio of Representation. — The 
present ratio is one Representative for every 
173,901 inhabitants. 

This does not mean that every Congressional 
district must have at least 173,901 inhabitants. 
The population of the Third Mass. Cong, dis- 
trict is 171,484, and but four districts in the 
State have populations equal to the basis. But 
the population of the whole State entitles it to 
13 Representatives. The districts are arranged 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 17 

by the legislature with a view to distributing the 
population among the districts as nearly equally 
as the population of cities and towns will allow. 
It is not desirable to divide a town so that a part 
shall be in one district and the remainder in 
another. 

The last apportionment was made as follows : 
The number of Representatives by the appor- 
tionment of 1880 was 339. It was thought best 
not to diminish the number of Representatives 
from any State, and the Committee on the Cen- 
sus, having charge of the apportionment, found 
356 to be the only number between 339 and 
375 by which the population could be divided 
and a basis obtained by the use of which the 
number of Representatives from any State would 
not be diminished. It w^as therefore decided 
that the whole number of Representatives under 
the new apportionment should be 356. The 
population of the States by the census of 1890 
was 61,908,906. This divided by 356 gave as 
the basis of representation 173,901. The popu- 
lation of Massachusetts divided by the basis 
gave 12, with a resulting fraction of 152,131. 
The populations of the other States were divided 
in like manner and the quotients, without regard 
to fractions, added, gave 339. The 17 Repre- 



18 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

sentatives needed to make the requisite number 
356, were apportioned among the 17 States hav- 
ing the largest resulting fractions. Massachu- 
setts being one of these is entitled to 13 Repre- 
sentatives. 

39. Each State Entitled to Repre- 
sentation. — A State with a number of inhab- 
itants less than the basis cannot be excluded 
from representation in the House. Each State, 
however small its population, shall have at least 
one Representative. 

40. Ratio, How Changed. — Congress, 

from time to time, fixes the ratio, generally 

immediately after the taking of the census. 

The census is the process of counting or numbering the 
population. It is taken every ten years. The first census 
was taken in 1790; the last in 1890. 

4 1 . Territorial Representation. — Each 
organized territory is allowed by Act of Congress 
to send one delegate to the House of Representa- 
tives, who has the right of debating but not of 
voting. 

A territory is a portion of the country subject to the 
United States but not within the limits of any State. An 
organized Territory is one in which a Territorial govern- 
ment has been established by Congress. 

42. First Congress under the Consti- 
tution. — 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 1',) 

"The House of Representatives formed a 
quorum on the first of April, 1789. The Senate 
chose its President on the sixth." — Bancroft. 

A quorum is a number sufficient to transact business 
legally. 

There were sixty-five Representatives in the 
first Congress. In the fifty-third Congress, now 
(1894) in session, there are three hundred and 
fifty-six. 

43. Vacancies. — When a vacancy happens 
in the representation from any State, the execu- 
tive authority thereof appoints a special election 
when the people elect a Representative to serve 
during the unexpired part of the term. 

By executive authority is meant the governor, or the 
person performing the duties of that officer. 

44. Power to fill Vacancy. — The power 
to fill the vacancy by appointment is not given 
to the governor, because the Constitution pro- 
vides that Representatives shall be elected by the 
people. "Only the power that originally elects 
can legally fill a vacancy." 

45. Speaker. — The presiding officer of 
the House of Representatives is called the 
Speaker. He is chosen by the House. As he 
is a regularly elected member, he has the right 
to speak and vote on all questions. In addition 
to the dnty of presiding, the Speaker is intrusted 



20 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

with the important power of appointing all com- 
mittees. As a very large part of the business of 
the House is clone through committees, this power 
of appointment makes the position of Speaker 
one of great influence in shaping the public 
policy. No officer, except the President, has 
so much power as the Speaker. His salary is 
$8,000 a year and mileage. 

The title of Speaker is copied from that of 
the presiding officer of the House of Commons 
of the British Parliament. The Speaker speaks 
for the House on occasions of ceremony, as the 
Speaker of the House of Commons formerly 
spoke in answer to the King when he addressed 
that body. 

46. Sole Power. — To the House of Rep- 
resentatives belongs the sole power of impeach- 
ment. . 

An impeachment is a formal written accusation against 
a civil officer, charging him with misconduct in the dis- 
charge of his official duties. 

A civil officer is one not connected with the military or 
naval service. Officers of the army and navy are tried by 
courts-martial or military courts. 

Section III. The Senate. 

47. Senate. — The Senate is composed of 
two Senators from each State. 



THE SENATE. 21 

48. Election. — Senators are chosen by the 
State Legislatures. 

49. Term. — The term of office of a Senator 
is six years. 

The reasons for making the term of a Senator 
longer than that of a Representative are : 

1 . To obtain a body of wiser and more ex- 
perienced men than the House is likely to con- 
tain. It was thought that the term being longer, 
more care would be taken in the selection of 
Senators. 

2. To prevent such changes, at brief periods, 
in the membership of both Houses, as would tend 
to derange the public business and to cause too 
frequent changes in the laws. 

3. As Representatives are so immediately 
responsible to the people, it is well that Sena- 
tors should be made more independent in their 
action by the assurance of a longer term of ser- 
vice. 

50. Salary. — The salary of a Senator is 
$5,000 a year and mileage. 

51. Classification. — The Senators were 
at first divided into three classes : the first class 
to retire at the end of the second year ; the second 
class at the end of the fourth year ; and the third 
class at the end of the sixth year. 



22 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Thus, while the House must be reorganized 
every second year, the Senate is a permanent 
body, since but one-third of its members retire 
at one time. By this arrangement, while new 
members are frequently entering, there always 
remains a large proportion of experienced Sena- 
tors who are familiar with the public business. 

52. Vacancies. — If vacancies happen in 

the Senate during the recess of the legislature of 

any State, the executive authority thereof may 

make temporary appointments to continue until 

the next session of the legislature, which shall 

then fill such vacancies. 

The recess is the time between the end of one session and 
the commencement of the next. 

53. Qualifications for a Senator. — 

1. He must be not less than thirty years of 
age. 

The age requirement is greater than that for 
a Eepresentative because of the greater dignity 
and importance of the position ; the duties of a 
Senator being more varied and his powers greater 
than those of a Representative. 

2. He must have been nine years a citizen 
of the United States . 

Foreign-born persons are eligible to the Senate, 
but as they must have been in the country five 



THE SENATE. 23 

years before they can become citizens, fourteen 
years must elapse before they can be elected 
Senators. As the Senate acts with the Presi- 
dent in making treaties, it is important that 
Senators, if adopted citizens, should have been 
in the country long enough to become alienated 
from their native countries to such a degree that 
they will not wish to favor them unduly in the 
formation of treaties. 

3. He must, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of the State for which he shall be chosen. 

The propriety of this is evident. A resident 
will understand the local interests and needs 
and be more closely in touch with the people of 
the State than a non-resident. 

54. Number.— There are eighty-eight Sen- 
ators in the fifty-third Congress. 

55. President of the Senate. — The 
Vice-President of the United States presides in 
the Senate. 

The office of Vice-President was created that 
there might be an officer to succeed to the Presi- 
dency in case of a vacancy in that office. If the 
Vice-President did not preside in the Senate he 
would have no duties to perform. As President 
of the Senate he holds a position of dignity and 
importance, and one which gives him an oppor- 



24 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

tunity to gain a knowledge of the public business 
that would be of advantage to him should he be 
called to act as President. Moreover, it was 
thought that the Vice-President, representing the 
Nation and not a State, would discharge the 
duties of presiding officer more impartially than 
a Senator. 

As the Vice-President is not a member of the 
Senate he has not the right of debating and he 
can vote only' in case of a tie, that is, when the 
Senators are equally divided. Such a vote is 
termed the ''casting vote." 

56. President Pro Tempore. — Early in 
each session the Senate elects a President pro 
tempore (for the time being), who presides 
whenever the Vice-President is absent. 

When there is no Vice-President the President pro tem- 
pore receives the salary of the Vice-President. 

57. Casting Vote. — Neither the President 
pro tempore nor the Speaker has a casting vote. 
Each has only his vote as a member of the body 
to which he belongs. In case of a tie the motion 
is lost, as a majority is needed to carry a vote, 
and a tie constitutes one less than a majority. 

58. Committees. — The Senate elects its 
committees. 

Much of the preliminary work of legislation is done by 
committees. Each House has about fifty standing, besides 



THE SENATE. 25 

special committees appointed for temporary purposes. 
Subjects, brought before Congress, on which legislation is 
proposed are referred to appropriate committees for in- 
vestigation and report. The committees are named from 
the subjects under their jurisdiction. Some of the most 
important committees are those on Foreign Relations, Fi- 
nance, Appropriations, Commerce, Judiciary, and Claims. 
Sometimes a legislative body resolves itself into a Com- 
mittee of the Whole which has, of course, the same mem- 
bership as the body, and the same organization except the 
presiding officer, wiio is called the chairman and is ap- 
pointed by the regular presiding officer of the House. The 
advantage of such a committee is that, many of the rules 
of the House being dispensed with, a subject may be dis- 
cussed with more freedom than in regular session. The 
Committee of the Whole reports to the House in the same 
manner as other committees. The House may then adopt 
or reject the report. 

59. Sole Power. — The Senate has the sole 
power to try all cases of impeachment. The 
House of Representatives brings the accusation ; 
the Senate tries the case. The House may be 
likened to a grand jury, which brings the indict- 
ment, and the Senate to a court which tries the 
accused and passes judgment upon him. When 
the Senate is sitting as a court of impeachment 
the Senators must be on oath or affirmation. 

An oath is a solemn promise or declaration, with an 
appeal to God to witness the good faith of the promise or 
the truth of the declaration. Such a promise or declara- 
tion, without the appeal to God, is an affirmation, and is 
allowed to be made by those who have conscientious object- 



26 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

ions to taking an oath. Both are equally binding in law. 
The breaking of either is called perjury, and makes the 
offender liable to the penalties prescribed by law for that 
offence. The oath referred to in this clause is a promise to 
try the case according to the Constitution and laws of the 
United States. 

60. Chief Justice as Presiding Offi- 
cer. — The Chief Justice presides in the Senate 
when the President of the United States is on 
trial. The Vice-President is not allowed to pre- 
side at that time because he might be tempted to 
favor the conviction of the President in order to 
succeed him in office. 

61. Conviction. — The concurrence of two- 
thirds of the members present is necessary to 
the conviction of an officer who is impeached 

62. Judgment. — In cases of impeachment, 
judgment shall not extend further than to re- 
moval from office and disqualification for hold- 
ing any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 
United States. 

The offender is further liable to prosecution 
in the courts and to punishment for his acts so 
far as they are offences against the laws. 

63. Power of Impeachment. — This is 
one of the most important powers granted by 
the Constitution, as it is the only mode in which 



liOTH houses. 27 

the Judiciary is made responsible, and also acts 
as a check on the Executive. 

64. Most Noted Case of Impeach- 
ment in our History.— Feb. 25, 1868, the 
House of Representatives impeached Andrew 
Johnson, President of the United States. The 
principal charge against him was the violation of 
a recent Act of Congress known as the Tenure 
of Office Act, in that he had removed Edwin M. 
Stanton from his position as Secretary of War 
without the consent of the Senate. 

The trial began March 5, Chief Justice Chase 
presiding, and ended May 26, when the Presi- 
dent was acquitted. Thirty-five Senators voted 
"guilty," and nineteen "not guilty." This was 
one less than the two-thirds vote required for 
conviction. 

Section IV. Both Houses. 

65. U A Congress." — By this term m 
meant the whole body of Senators and Repre- 
sentatives holding office for two years from 
March 4 of every odd year. 

These two years constitute a Representative term of office. 

66. Congressional Elections. — The 

State Legislatures have power to regulate Con- 
gressional elections, but Congress may, at any 



28 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

time, by law, make or alter such regulations, ex- 
cept as to the places of choosing Senators. 

"The propriety of this clause rests on the 
proposition that every government ought to con- 
tain in itself the means of its own preservation. " 
— Alexander Hamilton. 

Should the States refuse to make such regula- 
tions, the operations of the general government 
would be suspended, if this power were not given 
to Congress. 

67. Exception as to Places. — The pur- 
pose of this restriction is that Congress shall not 
have the arbitrary power of dictating to State 
legislatures where they should meet. The legis- 
latures should decide this Avith reference to their 
own convenience. 

68. Assembling of Congress. — Con- 
gress shall assemble at least once in every year, 
and such meeting shall be on the first Monday 
in December unless Congress shall, by law, 
appoint a different day. 

69. Sessions. — Each Congress holds two 
regular sessions. The first is often called the 
" long session " ; the other, the " short session." 

Each Congress ends at noon, March 4, at the 
end of the second regular session. 



POWERS OF EACH HOUSE. 29 

Section V. Powers of each House. 

70. Membership. — Each House shall be 
the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifica- 
tions of its members. 

When two persons claim the same seat in 
either House, that House has the power to de- 
cide which was legally elected and is therefore 
entitled to the seat. Until a decision is reached, 
the seat is said to be contested. 

Each House may decide whether any person 
elected to membership therein has the qualifica- 
tions for membership prescribed by the Consti- 
tution. 

Returns are the formal official accounts by election offi- 
cers of the votes cast at elections. 

71. Quorum. — A majority constitutes a 
quorum in each House. 

A majority is more thau half. Less than half is a minority. 

There has been much controversy as to whether in order 
to constitute a quorum a majority must be present and 
voting, or simply present, when business is transacted. 
The practice in the past has not been uniform. At times, 
a present quorum has been regarded as sufficient ; at others, 
a voting quorum has been required. Under the latter rule 
the way is open for the minority party to " filibuster," by 
refusing to vote, when the majority party have not a suffi- 
cient number present to constitute a voting quorum. In 
this way the public business has been greatly delayed. 

Another question that has caused much discussion is, 
who shall determine the presence of a quorum. In practice 



30 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

a quorum is ordinarily presumed to be present, and legisla- 
tive business proceeds, however few members take part, 
by consent of those who are silent. If at any time a mem- 
ber suggests that there is no quorum, that point must be 
decided before final action is taken on any question. It 
has not been definitely decided that a quorum is necessary 
during debate. 

The Constitution provides no method of ascertaining the 
presence of a quorum. To allow the presiding officer to 
determine the question seems to be placing a dangerous 
power in the hands of one man. 

These difficulties have been met in the House of Repre- 
sentatives by the adoption of a rule (April 18, 1894,) which 
recognizes the principle of a present quorum as correct, 
and prescribes a method of counting a quorum which 
seems safe and fair. The rule provides that upon each 
roll-call the Speaker shall appoint two tellers, one from 
each side of the pending question, whose duty it shall be 
to note the presence of members who do not vote or do 
not answer " present"; and that in determining whether a 
quorum is present the Speaker shall take into considera- 
tion the names of those who have voted yea and nay, the 
names of those who have responded kk present," and, if 
necessary, the names of others who have been noted by the 
tellers but have not responded at all. 

72. Adjournment. — A number less than 
a quorum may adjourn from clay to day. and 
may compel the attendance of absent members. 

This provision is designed to prevent factious 
members from obstructing the public business 
by absenting themselves from their places with- 
out good reasons. 

73. Pairiii^.— Sometimes a member who is obliged 



POWERS OF EACH HOUSE. 31 

to be absent when the passage of an important measure is 
pending, in order that his party may not lose his vote, 
pairs with some member of the opposite party who is to 
be present when the vote is taken. As the absent member 
cannot vote, the member with whom he impaired is allowed 
to decline to vote. The result is the same as though both 
were present and voting on opposite sides. 

74. Removal from Office. — Each House, 
with the concurrence of two-thirds, may expel a 
member. 

75. Journal. — Each House shall keep a 
journal of its proceedings and, from time to 
time, publish the same except such parts as may, 
in their judgment, require secrecy. 

The journal is a written record of the proceedings. 

76. Yeas and Nays. — These shall be 
entered on the journal when the final vote is 
taken on the reconsideration of bills vetoed by 
the President, and on any question at the desire 
of one-fifth of the members present. 

The yeas and nays are the votes for and against a measure. 

The object of this provision is that, by the 
publicity thus given, members may be held im- 
mediately responsible to the people for their 
votes on important questions. 

The yeas and nays are taken by calling the 
roll of members, each, in turn, announcing his 
vote, which is then recorded. 

77. Filibustering.— At times, a minority, bent on 



32 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

defeating a pending measure, have consumed the time dur- 
ing which it could be considered by making many and 
frequently trivial motions and insisting on the calling 
of the roll on each motion. The motion to adjourn, 
which, being a highly privileged motion, can be renewed 
frequently, is often made to serve this purpose. Some- 
times this practice has been kept up for several days and 
nights. This and other artful methods of delaying legisla- 
tion have been termed " filibustering." As the original 
meaning of "filibustering" is an irregular and irresponsi- 
ble mode of carrying on war, it is appropriately applied to 
such methods of parliamentary warfare. 

78. Restrictions on Adjournment. — 

Neither House shall, without the couseut of the 
other, adjourn for more than three clays, nor to 
any other place than that in which both are 
sitting. 

This is to prevent either House from long in- 
terrupting the course of legislation as, in case of 
a conflict between the two Houses, might other- 
wise happen. An adjournment for three days 
is permitted to allow for Sundays and holidays. 

Section VI. Privileges of Members. 

79. Compensation. — Members of Con- 
gress are paid for their services by the general 
government out of the treasury of the United 
States. 

80. Personal Privileges. — 1. Members 
are privileged from arrest in all cases except 



PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS. 33 

treason, felony, and breach of the peace, during 

the sessions of Congress and while going to and 

returning from the same. 

Freedom of members from arrest secures to 

their constituents their rightful representation in 

Congress. The public interests should not suffer 

because one man has committed some minor 

offence. 

Au arrest is the seizure and detention of a person by a 
public officer duly authorized to perform that act. 

2. For any speech or debate in Congress a 
member shall not be questioned in any other 
place. 

That is, legally questioned. This preserves 
members from suits for slander on account of 
words spoken in their places in Congress, and 
secures to them the utmost freedom in the dis- 
cussion of public questions. This privilege does 
not give a member of Congress the right to pub- 
lish a speech in which he defames the character 
of others. In such case he is as liable to the 
penalties provided by law as any other man. 

For the definition of treason see Constitution, 71. 

Felony is any crime punishable by death, or imprisonment 
in a State prison. 

Breach of the peace is disorderly conduct or disturbing 
the peace. It has been held to mean, as used here, any 
indictable offence. 
3 



34 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

8 1 . Members of Congress and United 
States Offices. — No person holding any office 
under the United States shall be a member of 
either House during his continuance in office. 

A member of Congress is not an officer of the 
United States, but a representative of a State or 
of the people. It would not be proper for him 
to hold office under the United States, as matters 
relating to that office might become the subjects 
of legislation, and he ought not to be allowed to 
vote on any matter in which he is directly inter- 
ested as an individual. 

Section VII. How the Laws are Made. 

82. Bill Defined. — A bill is a proposed 
law drawn up in proper form. 

When a bill becomes a law it is called an Act 
or Statute, from the Latin, Statuo, to fix or 
establish. 

83. Revenue. — All bills for raising reve- 
nue shall originate in the House of Representa- 
tives. 

Revenue is the income of a nation or the money 
received into its treasury for public use. The 
word has a restricted meaning here, applying 
only to money raised by taxation and not from 
other sources, as the sale of public lands, etc. 



HOW THE LAWS ARE MADE. 35 

Bills relating to other subjects may originate in 
either House. The reason for the exception as 
to revenue is that since the people by the pay- 
ment of taxes furnish the greater part of the 
revenue, they should have the power, through 
their direct representatives, of deciding how 
much money should be raised by taxation, and 
in what manner. This provision would operate 
as a check on the President or the Senate, or 
both, should they desire to carry out any expen- 
sive policy which the people did not approve. 
The people, through the House of Representa- 
tives, would refuse to raise the necessary revenue. 
84. How a Bill may become a Law. 
— 1. The bill must pass both Houses by a 
majority vote in each, and then must be sent to 
the President for his signature. If he approves 
the bill he signs it and it becomes a law. 

2. If the President vetoes a bill (that is, 
refuses to sign it,) he returns it, with his objec- 
tions, to the House in which it originated. If, 
after reconsideration, two-thirds of each House 
approve the bill, it becomes a law without the 
President's signature. In such case the bill is 
said to be passed over the President's veto. 

3. If a bill is sent to the President for his 
signature, and he does not return it within ten 



36 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

days (Sundays excepted) after it has been pre- 
sented to him, it becomes a law in like manner 
as if he had signed it, unless Congress, by their 
adjournment prevent its return, in which case it 
shall not become a law. 

The word "veto" means "I forbid." The power by 
which the President forbids a bill to become a law by re- 
fusing to sign it, is called the " veto power." 

During the last ten days of each session of Congress 
many bills are passed. Such of these as do not meet the 
approval of the President he has only to retain in his pos- 
session (keep in his pocket, so to speak,) until the adjourn- 
ment of Congress, when, of course, they fail to become 
laws. This method of preventing Congressional action is 
termed " pocketing" the bill or the " pocket veto." This 
applies especially to bills passed during the last ten days of 
the short session, the date of adjournment of which is 
definitely fixed. 

85. Purpose of the Veto Power. — It 

serves as an additional check to hasty and crude 
legislation, and as a weapon with which to de- 
fend the Executive Department. 

86. Orders, etc. — All orders, resolutions, 
and votes of Congress, except on a question of 
adjournment, shall be presented to the Presi- 
dent for his approval or disapproval. 

This is designed as a guard to the Executive 
power. It prevents Congress from passing under 
the guise of an order, resolution, or vote, a 
measure which might have the same effect as a 



POWERS OF CONGRESS. 37 

bill vetoed by the President would have had if it 
had become a law. 

Orders, resolutions, and votes are expressions of the 
opinion or will of a legislative body in a less formal and 
extended manner than by the passage of bills. 

Resolutions are joint or concurrent. A joint resolution 
is one adopted by both Houses and is intended to have the 
force of law. A concurrent resolution is one adopted by 
both Houses, but which does not have the force of law. 
Unlike a joint resolution it does not require the approval 
of the President. 

Section VIII. Powers of Congress. 

The most important powers in this, and the two succeed- 
ing sections, are considered. 

87. Power of Taxation. — Congress shall 
have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, im- 
posts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide 
for the common defence and general welfare of 
the United States. 

Taxes are sums of money exacted of the people by the 
government for public uses. Duties are taxes on goods 
imported or exported. Imposts are taxes on imported 
goods. Duties, imposts, and customs, as now generally 
used, are synonymous terms, having reference to taxes 
on imported goods only. Excises are taxes on goods pro- 
duced in the country, as the taxes on liquors and tobacco, 
known as internal revenue taxes. These words are all 
used here to dispel every doubt as to the unlimited power 
of Congress to levy taxes of all kinds. 

It will be observed that Congress can exercise 
this important power only for the benefit of the 



38 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

whole country. The term, "the general wel- 
fare," has received a very broad interpretation. 

88. To Borrow Money on the Credit 
of the United States. — 

No power but Congress can lawfully create a 
public debt. It is sometimes necessary, especi- 
ally in a great crisis like the Civil War, for the 
government to borrow money to meet its ex- 
penses, looking to the future for the gradual 
payment of the debt. 

Without this power the government would 
have been helpless when the life of the nation 
was at stake, for the ordinary revenue would not 
have gone far towards paying the expenses 
incurred in its defence. The government bor- 
rowed so freely during the war that at its close 
the nation was in debt to the amount of nearly 
$2,800,000,000. 

The prosperity of the country and the success- 
ful management of its financial affairs have en- 
bled the government to pay the debt so rapidly 
that it has been reduced about one half. 

89. To Regulate Commerce. — If this 
power had been given to the States there could 
have been no enduring Union, for doubtless 
each State would have made laws favoring its 



POWERS OF CONGRESS. 39 

own commerce at the expense of other States. 
Thus local jealousies and rivalries would have 
been created, which would have strained and 
weakened and at length broken the bonds of 
union. The lack of this power in the general 
government, under the Confederation, was one 
of its chief defects, and, as a consequence, the 
commerce of the country was nearly destroyed 
because of the conflicting laws of the States. 

In the exercise of this power Congress, in 
1887, passed the Inter-State Commerce Act, 
creating a Commission, one of whose principal 
duties is to regulate the charges made by rail- 
roads which pass through more than one State, 
the object being to secure fair and uniform rates 
for freight and passengers. 

In the regulation of foreign commerce Con- 
gress has, from time to time, enacted tariff laws, 
laying duties on imported goods for the purpose 
of raising revenue for the support of the govern- 
ment, and of protecting home productions from 
competition with foreign goods of the same kind. 

A tariff is a list of dutiable goods with the amount of 
duty to be paid on each. 

90. To Establish a Uniform Rule of 
Naturalization. — Naturalization is the pro- 
cess by which a person born in a foreign country 



40 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

becomes a citizen of the United States. The 
rule must be uniform throughout the country, 
otherwise a person removing from one State to 
another might lose his rights of citizenship and 
be obliged to wait some time before he could 
recover them under a different system of laws. 
Thus great confusion and inconvenience would 
be caused. 

91. Process of Naturalization. — 1. 
The foreigner declares on oath before a United 
States, State, or Territorial Court his intention 
to become a citizen of the United States. He 
then receives his " first papers," that is, a cer- 
tificate from the clerk of the court. 

2. Two years, at least, having elapsed, the 
foreigner takes the oath of allegiance in open 
court, when he must prove by two witnesses that 
he has resided continuously in the United States 
five years, and in the State where the court is 
held one year, that he has borne a good moral 
character and been well disposed toward the 
government. He then receives his "second 
papers" and is entitled to full citizenship. 

The naturalization of a foreigner naturalizes 
his children under twenty-one years of age. 

Men of foreign birth, who have been honorably 
discharged from the United States army after 



POWERS OF CONGRESS. 41 

one year's service, may become citizens simply 
by taking the oath of allegiance. In taking this 
oath the foreigner renounces allegiance to every 
foreign government and solemnly promises to 
support the Constitution of the United States. 

If the foreigner has borne any title of nobility 
he must renounce the same at the time of his 
application for citizenship. 

92. To Coin Money and Regulate 
the Value thereof. — The object of this 
power is to secure uniformity in the value of 
money throughout the Union, and to protect the 
people from the evils of a currency subject to 
frequent changes in value. 

The money of the United States is coined in the govern- 
ment mints at Philadelphia, >an Francisco, and other places. 

93. To Establish Post-Offices and 
Post-Roads.— 

Post-roads are roads that may be used as mail routes. 
The government now generally uses for this purpose roads 
constructed by others. Early in the century the govern- 
ment built a post-road, known as the Cumberland, and 
sometimes as the National, road, from the Potomac river to 
the Ohio. The Pacific railroads, which the government, 
by grants of land and issues of bonds, helped to build, are 
post and military roads. 

94. To Grant Copyrights and Pat- 
ents.— 

A copyright is an exclusive right granted to 



42 FACTS 1 OUGHT TO KNOW. 

an author or publisher to print and sell a book, 
map, engraving, or other literary or artistic 
work within the -limits of the country. A copy- 
right is granted for twenty-eight years, and at 
the end of that time may be renewed for fourteen 
years. 

A patent is an exclusive right granted to an 
inventor to make and sell a new invention, as a 
machine, a composition of matter, a design, or 
a trade-mark. Patents of the first two classes 
are granted for seventeen years, without renewal 
except by Act of Congress. 

Patents for designs, as ornaments, patterns 
and pictures, to be placed on or worked into 
manufactured articles, or any new shape of such 
articles, are granted for three and one- half, 
seven, or fourteen years, at the option of the 
applicant. 

Patents for trade-marks, such as are placed by 
manufacturers on their productions to distinguish 
them from those made by other persons, are 
granted for thirty years, with the privilege of 
renewal for thirty additional years. 

The exercise of this important power by Con- 
gress has made the American people first among 
the nations of the world in the number, variety, 
and ingenuity of inventions. 



POWERS OF CONGRESS. 43 

95. To Declare War. — This important 
power, which in many monarchical countries is 
intrusted to the ruler, is here exercised by the 
representatives of all the people and of all the 
States, since all must share the burdens of waiv 

96. To Support Armies and a Navy. 
— This power is carefully guarded by the pro- 
vision which prevents Congress from making 
appropriations for the army and navy for a 
longer term than two years. Thus the people, 
by controlling the public purse, keep control of 
the army and navy. Standing armies are re- 
garded as a menace to the liberties of the people * 

97. To Exercise Exclusive Legisla- 
tion over the district in which the capital i& 
located, and all places purchased by the govern- 
ment for the erection of forts, magazines, arse- 
nals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings. 

. A magazine is a strong building for storing explosive 
materials. 

An arsenal is a building for the manufacture and storage 
of arms and military stores. 

A dock-yard is a navy-yard containing naval stores and 
materials for building ships of war, and dry-docks for 
vessels during repairs. 

98. General Power. — Congress may 
make all necessary and proper laws for carrying 
into execution all powers vested by the Consti- 
tution in the government of the United States. 



44 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

It is the opinion of writers on the Constitu- 
tion that Congress would have had this general 
power if this provision had not been placed in 
the Constitution, on the ground that a grant of 
powers carries with it all needed authority for 
exercising the powers granted. To place the 
question beyond doubt or cavil this provision 
was inserted. 

Section IX. Powers Denied to the United 
States. 

99. Habeas Corpus. — The privilege of 
the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the 
public safety may require it. 

A writ is a written order from a court or magis- 
trate to a public officer commanding him to per- 
form some specified act. 

Habeas corpus is from the Latin language and 
means "You may have the body." The privi- 
lege of this writ is justly regarded as one of the 
great safeguards of individual liberty. A per- 
son arrested and held in confinement on any 
charge may apply, himself, or through any friend, 
to the judge of a court for the granting of this 
writ, which commands those having him in 
charge to bring him before the judge, who, on 



POWERS DENIED TO THE UNITED STATES. 45 

hearing the evidence, decides whether or not the 
prisoner is lawfully deprived of his liberty. 
The privilege of habeas corpus was never sus- 
pended in this country until the Civil War made 
its suspension necessary in some instances. 

This great safeguard of personal liberty is so 
highly regarded, that some States have placed 
in their constitutions a provision that the privi- 
lege of habeas corpus shall never be suspended 
by the State authorities. 

100. Attainder. — Congress may not pass 
a bill of attainder or an ex post facto law. 

A bill of attainder is a legislative act inflicting punish- 
ment, generally death, for treason or other crime, without 
a trial in court. 

An ex post facto law is a law which makes an act pun- 
ishable that was not punishable when committed, or which 
makes an act punishable in a manner in which it was not 
punishable when committed. 

101. Export Duties.— Congress may not 
lay a tax or duty on articles exported from any 
State. 

Such duties could not be distributed equally 
among the States because they do not all export 
the same articles, the exports of some being 
mainly agricultural products, of others manufac- 
tured goods, or the productions of mines. Du- 
ties on exports would therefore bear heavily on 



46 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

-some and lightly on others. To prevent this ine- 
quality, the power to lay such duties is denied to 
Congress. 

102. Expenditures. — No money shall 
be drawn from the treasury except on appropri- 
ations made by law. 

This is an additional guard against the expen- 
diture of the money of the people without their 
consent legally expressed through their Repre- 
sentatives. 

103. Titles. — The United States may not 
grant any title of nobility. 

This clause forbids all distinctions of rank, 

thus reaffirming the great principle of equality 

announced in the Declaration of Independence. 

The corner-stone of the republic is equality of 

rights, privileges, and rank among all citizens. 

A title of nobility is a name of honor, dignity, or rank, 
as duke, marquis, count, etc., conferred by a government 
on a subject, and which generally may be transmitted^by 
him to his descendants. 

Section X. Powers Denied to the States. 

104. Treaties, etc. — No State shall enter 
into any treaty, alliance, or confederation. 

These are sovereign powers belonging only to 
the Nation. If given to the States the certain 
result would be confusion and discord. 



^= 



POWERS DENIED TO THE STATES. 4* 

A treaty, in its true sense, is an agreement between 
nations. 
An alliance is a union or joining of interests. 
A confederation is a league for mutual aid and protection. 

105. Coinage. — No State shall coin money. 

106. Bills of Credit. — No State shall 
emit bills of credit. 

These two provisions are necessary in order 

to prevent the evils of an irredeemable paper 

currency, and to secure to the people the well 

known advantages of a currency of equal value 

everywhere in the country. 

Bills of credit, often called paper money, are written or 
printed promises to pay money, issued by a government 
on its credit and designed to circulate as money. 

107. Legal Tender. —No State shall 
make anything but gold and silver a legal tender. 

A legal tender is anything that the law de- 
clares shall be accepted in payment of debts, 
when tendered. Nothing that is subject to fre- 
quent changes in value should be made a legal 
tender. Gold and silver are regarded as less 
liable to such changes than other substances. 
Before the adoption of the Constitution some of 
the States declared their " paper money," which 
they could not pay in coin as promised, a legal 
tender. Thus great loss was caused to creditors, 
who were obliged to accept in payment of debts 



48 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

that which had little or no value iu place of gold 
or silver. It was the memory of that experience, 
so disastrous to commerce and morals, which 
led to the adoption of this provision. 

108. Contracts. — No State shall pass any 
law impairing the obligation of contracts. 

A contract is an agreement to do or not to do a particular 
thing. 

This provision rests on much the same princi- 
ple as the prohibition of an ex post facto law. 
If men could be released from their obligations 
by law no one could rest secure in the possession 
of property, and no confidence, such as is neces- 
sary in business transactions, could exist. This 
clause was intended to prevent a recurrence of 
the evils which arose from State interference 
with contracts under the Confederation. 

109. War Power. — No State shall en- 
gage in war unless invaded or in imminent 
danger. 

The States have only the right of self-defence. 
All other powers of war are reserved to the 
general government. 



PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 49 

ARTICLE II. 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section I. President and Vice-President. 

110. Executive Power. — The executive 
power is vested in a President of the United 
States. 

Efficient executive action requires the strength 
of will and energy of purpose of one able man. 
If the executive power were distributed among 
several persons, the dissensions that would arise 
would tend to cause a feeble execution of the 
laws. 

111. Term. — The term of office of the 
President is four years. 

This period being midway between the term 
of a Representative and that of a Senator was 
thought by the framers of the Constitution to 
be long enough to enable the President to carry 
fairly through a system of administration accord- 
ing to the laws, and to give the people an oppor- 
tunity to form an estimate of the merits of what- 
ever policy he might pursue ; and so short that 
he would not lose that sense of responsibility to 
the people, so essential to the proper conduct of 
public affairs. 



50 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

A President may be reelected as many times 
as the people see fit thus to honor him. No 
President, however, has served more than two 
terms. Washington declined to serve a third 
term, thus setting an example for his successors. 
Though one President desired a third term, not- 
withstanding his eminent services to the country, 
the great party which had twice elected him re- 
fused to grant him a third nomination. It may 
now be regarded as the settled custom of the 
country to reelect a President but once. 

112. Salary. — The salary of the President 
is 850,000 a year and the use of the executive 
mansion (the White House). 

This is a moderate salary for the highest 
officer of the foremost nation of the world. 
Great Britain pays for the maintenance of four- 
teen members of the royal family nearly $3,000,- 
000 a year. 

113. Presidential Electors. - The Presi- 
dent and Vice-President are elected by electors 
appointed by the States, in such manner as the 
legislatures thereof may direct. 

The electors are now chosen in all the States 
by vote of the people. 

This provision has not operated as intended 
by the framers of the Constitution. They thought 



PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 51 

that the duty of selecting the two highest officers 
of the government should be intrusted to a select 
body of wise and patriotic men, who should be 
entirely free to weigh the merits and qualifica- 
tions of candidates and to make such choice as, 
in their judgment, would be best for the country. 
The practice of political parties has defeated 
this intention. Now each party nominates 
1 electors who are practically pledged to vote, if 
elected, for the candidates of their party. They 
have no freedom of choice. They simply regis- 
ter the will of the people. 

114. Electoral College. — This term is 
applied to the whole body of electors. Each 
State is entitled to a number of electors equal to 
the whole number of Senators and Representa- 
tives to which the State is entitled in Congress. 
In the Presidential election of 1892 the electoral 
college numbered four hundred and forty-four. 

115. Restrictions as to Electors. — 
Members of Congress and all persons holding 
any office of trust or profit under the United 
States, are prohibited from being appointed 
electors. 

This was designed to keep the electors free 
from personal interest in the election. But as 
electors do not now use their personal judgment 



52 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

in selecting the President and Vice-President, 
this provision has little practical value. 

116. Electors, When Chosen. —The 
electors are now chosen on the Tuesday next 
after the first Monday of the last November of 
each Presidential terra of office. 

117. Qualifications for President. — 

1. He must be a natural born citizen. A 
foreigner, if naturalized, can hold any office 
under the United States except those of Presi- 
dent and Vice-President. 

2. He must be not less than thirty-five years 
of age. 

The requirement as to age is somewhat greater 
than in the case of a Senator on account of the 
greater dignity of the office. Besides, it is not 
probable that the people of the whole country 
would have become sufficiently familiar with the 
career and character of a man of less years to 
judge as to his fitness for the office. 

3. He must have been fourteen years a resi- 
dent within the United States. 

That he may know the condition and needs of 
the country. 

The qualifications for Vice-President are the 
same as those for President. The term of office 
is also the same. 



PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 53 

118. Salary. — The salary of the Vice- 
President is 88,000 a year. 

119. Election of President and Vice- 
President. — The electors meet in their re- 
spective States, usually at the capital, on the 
second Monday in January following the elec- 
tion, and vote by ballot for President and Vice- 
President, one of whom, at least, shall not be 
an inhabitant of the same State with them- 
selves. The electors in each State make lists of 
all persons voted for as President and Vice- 
President and of the number of votes for each. 
These lists they sign, certify, and seal. Three 
sets of these lists are prepared, one of which is 
sent to the President of the Senate by mail, 
another to the same officer by special messenger, 
and the third is delivered to the judge of the 
United States District Court of the district in 
which the electors meet. 

On the second Wednesday in February both 
Houses of Congress meet together, and in their 
presence the President of the Senate opens the 
certificates, and the votes are then counted by 
tellers appointed from each House. 

If any candidate for President is found to 
have a majority of all the electoral votes he is 
declared elected. 



54 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

If any candidate for Vice-President is found 
to have a majority of all the electoral votes he is 
declared elected. 

If in either case no candidate has a majority, 
there is no election by the electors. 

When the electors fail to elect a President the 
House of Representatives chooses the President. 

The election of President in this case devolves 
upon the House of Representatives because that 
body more immediately represents the people. 

When the electors fail to elect a Vice-Presi- 
dent the Senate chooses the Vice-President. 

120. Popular Vote. — A majority of the 
popular vote is not necessary to the election of 
President. A candidate may have a large 
majority of the electoral votes and yet be in a 
minority so far as the vote of the people is con- 
cerned. 

The following have been minority Presidents : John 
Quincy Adams, Polk, Taylor, Buchanan, Lincoln (first 
term), Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, and Cleveland (both 
terms). 

These Presidents, except Adams, Hayes, and Harrison, 
received each a plurality of the popular vote. 

Plurality, as used in politics, means the number by which 
the votes cast for the candidate who receives the largest 
number exceed the votes cast for the candidate who re- 
ceives the next largest number, when there are more than 
two candidates and no one receives a majority of the votes. 
Majority is the number by which the votes cast for the 



PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 55 

candidate who receives the largest number of votes exceed 
the votes cast for all other candidates. 

Minority is the smaller of two parts into which a number 
is divided. 

A candidate has a minority when he receives a less num- 
ber of votes than all other candidates. 

In referring to the result of an election the term u majori- 
ty " is generally used instead of " plurality," except when 
it is necessary to mark the difference. 

The result of the Presidential election of 1892 illustrates 
the meaning and use of the foregoing terms. 
The popular vote was divided as follows : 

Cleveland, 5,556,918 

Harrison, 5,176,108 

Weaver. 1,041,028 

Bidwell, 264,133 

Wing, 21,164 

All others, 51,285 

Total, 12,110,636 

Cleveland's plurality (excess over Harrison) was 380,810. 
His minority (less than all others) was 996,800. 
The electoral vote was as follows : 

Cleveland, 277 

Harrison, 145 

Weaver, 22 

Total, 444 

Cleveland's majority (excess over Harrison and Weaver) 
was 110. 

121. Election of President by the 
House. — When the election of President de- 
volves upon the House of Representatives, that 
body must select the President from the three 
highest on the list of those voted for as President. 



56 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

This renders probable a speedy election. In 
such case the vote must be taken by States, each 
State having one vote. A quorum for this pur- 
pose shall consist of a member or members from 
two -thirds of the States, and a majority of all 
the States shall be necessary to a choice. 

Thomas Jefferson (first term) and John Quincy Adams 
were elected to the Presidency by the House. 

122. Election of Vice-President by 
the Senate. — When the election of Vice-Presi- 
dent devolves upon the Senate, that body mnst 
select the Vice-President from the two highest 
on the list of those voted for as Vice-President. 
A quorum for this purpose shall consist of two- 
thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a 
majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice. 

Should the election of President and Vice- 
President devolve upon the House and the Sen- 
ate, if the House should fail to make a choice 
before the fourth of March, the Vice-President 
would act as President until the election of that 
officer. As the Senate must choose from the 
two highest on the list, it is probable that that 
body would have selected the Vice-President 
before the elate of inauguration, whatever may 
have been the action of the House. 



PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. 57 

123. Disputed Election of 1876.— An 

unforeseen difficulty in the election of President 
occurred in 1876-77. In four States, Oregon, 
South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, two sets 
of electors claimed to be the duly chosen electors. 
From each of these States were sent double re- 
turns. When the Senate and House met in con- 
vention to count the votes, the question arose as 
to which of these returns should be recognized as 
true and legal. Both parties claimed these States 
and the excitement throughout the country was 
intense. 

124. Decision of the Contest. — There 
being no Constitutional provision or law by which 
the question could be settled, both parties agreed 
to the submission of all points in dispute to a 
commission created by Congress and known as 
the Electoral Commission, composed of five Sen- 
ators, five Representatives, and rive Justices of 
the Supreme Court. This Commission decided 
by a vote of eight to seven in favor of the 
Republican electors, and Hayes was declared 
elected by a vote of 185 to 184 for Tilden, the 
Democratic candidate. 

125. Electoral Count Bill.— An Act of 
Congress of 1887 provides that a tribunal ap- 
pointed in and by each State, shall determine 



58 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

what electoral votes from the State are legal, 
and if the State has appointed do such tribunal, 
the two Houses of Congress shall determine 
which votes (in case of double returns) are 
legal. This is intended to prevent a recurrence 
of the difficulty of 1877. 

126. Presidential Succession. — When 
a vacancy occurs in the office of President, the 
duties of that office shall devolve on the Vice- 
President. A Presidential Succession law was 
passed in 1886, providing that if, at any time, 
there be no President nor Vice-President, a 
member of the Cabinet shall act as President, 
the order of succession being as follows : the 
Secretaries of State, Treasury, and War, the 
Attorney-General, the Postmaster-General, the 
Secretaries of the Navy and Interior, and (by 
Act of 1892) the Secretary of Agriculture. 

This applies only to such Cabinet Officers as 
have the qualifications for President prescribed 
by the Constitution. 

127. Inauguration. — The President is 
inaugurated on the fourth of March next follow- 
ing his election, when the oath of office (Consti- 
tution, 61,) is administered to him by the Chief 
Justice. 



POWEKS OF THE PRESIDENT. 59 

Section II. Powers of the President. 

128. Commander-in-Chief. — The Presi- 
dent shall be Commander-in-Chief of the army 
and navy. 

Promptness and vigor as well as wisdom are 
needed in the conduct of military operations. 
This power is intrusted to the executive, where 
these qualities are more likely to be found than 
in any other department. There should be no 
divided responsibility in the exercise of the 
highest military power. 

129. President's Cabinet. — The Presi- 
dent may require the opinion in writing of the 
heads of the executive departments on subjects 
relating to their official duties. 

The heads of the departments, collectively, 
are called the Cabinet. The President calls fre- 
quent meetings of the Cabinet for the purpose of 
consulting with them on public matters and ob- 
taining their advice as to the management of the 
executive department. The salaries of the Cab- 
inet officers are $8,000 a year each. 

The departments and their heads are : 
Department of State, Secretary of State. 

Treasury Department. Secretary of the Treasury. 

• War Department, Secretary of War. 

Navy Department, Secretary of the Navy. 

Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior. 



60 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Post-Office Department, Postmaster-General. 

Department of Justice, Attorney-General. 

Department of Agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture. 

Each head of a department has under him a large num- 
ber of officers and employes, among whom the work of the 
department is divided. The chief clerk of each depart- 
ment is an important officer, as he has general supervision . 
of the clerks and employes and of the business of the 
department. 

The following summary of the duties of the heads of 
departments is condensed from the Congressional Directory, 
which states minutely the duties of officers in the several 
departments. 

The Secretary of State is regarded as first in rank among 
the members of the Cabinet. He has charge of all matters 
relating to the foreign affairs of the United States. He has 
the custody of the great seal of the United States, and the 
originals of all laws and treaties, and publishes the laws 
and other important official documents. 

The Secretary of the Treasury is charged with the man- 
agement of the national finances. He superintends the 
collection of the revenue, receives and disburses the public 
money, and prepares plans for the improvement of the 
revenue and the support of the public credit. He also 
controls the construction of public buildings, the coinage 
and printing of money aud has general supervision of sev- 
eral minor branches of the public service. 

The Secretary of War performs such duties as the Presi- 
dent may enjoin upon him concerning the military service. 
He has supervision of all purchases of army supplies, of 
all expenditures for the army, of the Military Academy at 
West Point, and of all matters relating to river and harbor 
improvements. 

The Secretary of the Navy performs such duties as the 
President mav assign him concerning the naval service, and 



POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT. 61 

has general superintendence of the construction, manning, 
armament, equipment, and emplo3 7 ment of vessels of war. 

The Secretary of the Interior is charged with the super- 
vision of public business relating to patents, pensions, the 
public lauds, the Indians, education, railroads, the census, 
and the National Parks. 

The Postmaster-General has the management of the 
Post-Office Department. He appoints most of the officers 
and employes of the departments, and all postmasters 
whose compensation does not exceed one thousand dollars 
a year. He makes postal arrangements with other govern- 
ments, and has general control of the domestic and foreign 
mail service. 

The Attorney-General is the chief law officer of the 
government. He conducts suits in the Supreme Court in 
which the United States is a party, and gives legal advice 
on questions of law when it is required by the President 
or the heads of the other executive departments. 

The Secretary of Agriculture is charged with the super- 
vision of all public business relating to the agricultural 
industry, as the procuring and dissemination of informa- 
tion on agricultural subjects, and the testing and distribu- 
tion of new and valuable plants and seeds. 

130. Reprieves and Pardons. — The 

President shall have power to grant reprieves 
and pardons for offences against the United 
States, except in cases of impeachment. 

This power relates only to cases of convictions 
in the United States Courts. 

A reprieve is a suspension for a time of the execution of 
a sentence. 

A pardon is a release from punishment for a crime. 

131. Treaties. — The President shall have 



62 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

power by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate to make treaties with foreign nations, 
provided two-thirds of the Senators present con- 
cur. 

This power is too important to be intrusted to 
any one man. The Constitution, therefore, re- 
quires that treaties shall not be valid unless con- 
firmed by vote of the Senate. The Senate, 
being smaller and less liable to be moved by 
sudden popular impulses and containing more 
wisdom, experience, and special knowledge of 
our foreign relations, is a more reliable body 
than the House to decide what the interests of 
the nation require in the making of treaties. 

132. Appointments. — The President 
shall nominate and, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, appoint ambassadors, 
other public ministers and consuls, judges of the 
Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United 
States whose appointments are not otherwise pro- 
vided for. 

In the matter of appointments the Senate is a 
check to the President. Knowing that his nom- 
inations will be examined closely by the Senate 
he will naturally make careful selections. 

• A public (foreign) minister is an agent commissioned to 
reside at the capital of a foreign nation as the representa- 



DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 63 

tive of his government in its intercourse with the govern- 
ment of such foreign nation. 

The foreign ministers of the United States are of three 
grades: ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary (with full 
powers), and ministers resident. The United States sends 
ambassadors to Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. 
The salary of an ambassador is $17,500 a year. 

In many other countries our government is represented 
by ministers plenipotentiary, with salaries ranging from 
$5,000 to $17,500 a year ; and in certain others by ministers 
resident, with salaries from $4,000 to $7,500 a year. 

Consuls-general and consuls are commercial agents of the 
government, who reside generally at the seaports of foreign 
nations to take care of the commercial interests of their 
country aud its citizens. 

In considering treaties and the fitness of nominations the 
Senate meets in " executive session," when the proceed- 
ings are conducted in secret. Such sessions are termed 
executive because they relate to executive rather than 
legislative business. 

Section III. Duties of the President. 

133. President's Message. — The Presi- 
dent's message is the document in which the 
President from time to time gives to Congress a 
general account of the operations of the govern- 
ment and recommends such measures as he 
deems necessary and expedient. 

The President annually, at the beginning of 
each session, sends such a message to Congress. 
He also sends special messages when necessary. 



64 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

134. Extra Sessions. — The President 
may call extra sessions of Congress on extra- 
ordinary occasions, that is, when in his judg- 
ment the public interests so require. 

135. Adjournment. — When the two 
Houses of Congress cannot agree as to the time 
of adjournment, the President may adjourn them 
to such time as he shall think proper. 

136. To receive Ambassadors and 
Public Ministers. — A foreign minister on his 
arrival at Washington presents himself, with his 
credentials, at the executive mansion, where he is 
formally received by the President. Until this 
ceremony has taken place he can do no formal 
official act. 

It is thought by some that the advice and con- 
•sent of the Senate are needed as a check to the 
President in the exercise of this important and 
delicate function. In case of revolution or the 
existence of rival governments in a foreign 
country, the recognition of a minister of either 
party would cause ill-feeling toward our govern- 
ment on the part of the opposite party, and 
might even become a cause of war. The critical 
nature of this trust requires great caution, dis- 
cretion, and judgment in its exercise. 

137. Execution of the Laws. — The 



REMOVAL FROM OFFICE. 65 

great duty of the President is to take care that 
the laws are faithfully executed. 

"The laws" include the Constitution, Acts of 
Congress, and the obligations of treaties. 

Section IV. Removal from Office. 

138. Removal. — The President and all 
civil officers may be removed from office on im- 
peachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, 
or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

Bribery, as used here, is the act of a public officer in 
taking a reward for using his official position to the advan- 
tage of some one. 

What constitute high crimes and misdemeanors is left to 
the Senate, when sitting as a court of impeachment, to 
decide, which would probably be done by referring to the 
common law. 

ARTICLE III. 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Section I. United States Courts. 

139. Judicial Power. — The judicial 
power of the United States is vested in one 
Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as 
Congress may from time to time ordain and 
establish. 

140. Duty of the Judiciary. — The 
duty of the judicial department is to interpret 
or explain the laws, and to decide whether they 



66 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

are such as the legislative authority could, by 
the provisions of the Constitution, make. This 
power of decision is exercised when, in cases 
that come before the Supreme Court, one of the 
parties denies the constitutionality of a law. If 
the judges, on examining the law, find its enact- 
ment to have been within the legislative authori- 
ty, it remains in force and must be obeyed ; if 
not, they declare it is not a law, and it becomes 
void and of no effect. This power of the judici- 
ary is another check to hasty legislation. 

" In this supreme exercise of jurisdiction our 
highest federal tribunal is unlike any other known 
to history. The Supreme Court is the most 
original of all American institutions. It is 
peculiarly American, and for its exalted charac- 
ter and priceless services it is an institution of 
which Americans may well be proud." — Fiske. 

141. Inferior Courts. — Congress has 
established — 

1. Nine Circuit Courts. 

2. District Courts. 
There are now (1894) sixty-four. 

3. U. S. Court of Claims. 

4. U. S. Court of Private Land Claims. 

5. Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. 

6. Territorial Courts, 



UNITED STATES COURTS. 67 

142. Supreme Court. — The Supreme 
Court is composed of one Chief Justice and eight 
Associate Justices. 

143. Term. — The term of office of the 
Justices of the Supreme Court is during good 
behavior. 

The Justices have practically a life tenure that 
they may be independent in their decisions. If 
they could be removed at the pleasure of the 
appointing power, or if they held their places by 
vote of the people for a limited period, they 
might be inclined to shape their decisions so as 
to prevent removal or to secure reelection, with- 
out due regard to the claims of justice. 

A judge, who is seventy years of age and who 
has served ten years, may resign and receive the 
full salary during the remainder of his life. 

144. Salaries. — The Chief Justice receives 
$10,500 a year; the Associate Justices, $10,000 
a year. Their salaries shall not be diminished 
during their continuance in office. 

In interpreting the laws they might, by their 
decisions, incur the enmity of Congress, which 
might punish them (if that body had the power) 
by reducing their salaries. Each department of 
the government should be, as far as possible, 
independent of the others. 



68 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Section II. Jurisdiction and Trial of 
Crimes. 

145. Jurisdiction. — The judicial power 
extends to all cases in law and equity arising 
under the Constitution, the laws of the United 
States, and treaties made under their authority. 

146. Criminal Trials.— 1. The trial of 
all crimes except in cases of impeachment shall 
be by jury. 

A trial by jury is a trial before twelve impar- 
tial men, who shall hear the evidence and must 
decide unanimously as to the guilt or innocence 
of the accused before he can be punished or set 
free. This right is one of the great bulwarks of 
liberty. 

2. Such trials shall be held in the State 
where said crimes are committed. 

This is designed as a benefit to an accused 
person by not subjecting him to the certain ex- 
pense, and possible danger to his interests, that 
would attend a trial in a place distant from his 
# home and friends. 

The trial of crimes not committed in any State 
shall be held where Congress may by law direct. 

By "crimes not committed in any State," are 
meant those committed in the District of Colum- 



TREASON AND ITS PUNISHMENT. 69 

bia, the Territories, the forts and government 
buildings, and on the high seas. Congress has 
passed laws providing for all of these. 

The " high seas " are the waters of the ocean beyond low- 
water mark. Crimes committed on shipboard in these 
waters are tried in the State where the vessel first arrives. 

Section III. Treason and its Punishment. 

147. Treason Defined. — Treason against 
the United States shall consist only in levying 
war against them, or in adhering to their ene- 
mies, giving them aid and comfort. 

Levying war is the assembling of armed men for the 
purpose of carrying on war. 

A knowledge and concealment of treason without assent- 
ing to it is termed misprision of treason, and is punishable 
by imprisonment not exceeding seven years and a fine not 
exceeding one thousand dollars. 

148. Conviction. —The testimony of two 
witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in 
open court is necessary to a conviction of treason. 

Treason is regarded as the highest crime 
against society, since its object is to destroy the 
government. Traitors therefore deserve severe 
punishment. It is well that a crime so odious is 
so clearly defined, and that the clearest proof of 
its commission is necessary to a conviction. 

An overt act is an act that can be clearly proved. An 
open court is one to which free admission is given to all 
who wish to enter. 



70 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

149. Punishment.— Congress has power 
to declare the punishment for treason, and has 
prescribed death as the extreme penalty for that 
offence, but a less punishment may be inflicted. 
At the discretion of the court, the traitor may be 
imprisoned for not less than five years, and fined 
not less than ten thousand dollars. 

ARTICLE IV. 

RELATIONS OF THE STATES. 

Section I. State Records. 

150. Public Acts, etc. — Each State must 
give full faith and credit to the public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of every other 
State. 

The chief value of this provision is to prevent 
endless lawsuits. When a case has been decided 
in one State it cannot be reopened by either 
party in the courts of another State. 

Public acts are the Constitution and laws of a State. 
State records are the registered deeds of property, journals 
of legislatures, etc. Judicial proceedings are the records 
of courts. 

Section II. Privileges of Citizenship. 

151. State Recognition. —No State shall 
give its citizens any privileges which it does not 
equally give to the citizens of all other States. 



NEW STATES AND TERRITORIES. 71 

If a citizen of Massachusetts goes into Con- 
necticut he is entitled to all the privileges of a 
citizen of Connecticut. 

152. Fugitive Criminals. — A person 
charged with crime fleeing from one State into 
another shall be delivered up on demand of the 
executive authority of the State from which he 
fled. 

Such demand made by the Governor of one 
State on that of another is called a requisition. 

Section III. New States and Territories. 

153. Admission. — New States may be 
admitted into the Union by Act of Congress. 

On coming into the Union, new States are 
received on terms of equality with all other 
States. 

1 54. Secession. — Though the Constitution 
makes all necessary provision for the admission 
of States it contains no provision for secession. 
A State cannot secede from the Union constitu- 
tionally. "The Constitution creates an indis- 
soluble Union of indestructible States." — Ban- 
croft. 

155. Formation. — No State shall be 
formed within the jurisdiction of any other State, 
nor shall any State be formed by the junction of 



72 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

two or more States, or parts of States, without 
the consent of the legislatures of the States con- 
cerned, as well as of the Congress. 

Maine, formerly a part of Massachusetts, was 
permitted to become a State in 1820 by the joint 
action of Congress and the legislature of the 
latter State. Vermont, Kentucky, and West 
Virginia were also parts of other States before 
their admission. Texas, having revolted from 
Mexico, was an independent republic for some 
time before its admission by annexation. The 
other States which have come into the Union 
since the ratification of the Constitution were 
formed from territory belonging to the United 
States, outside of the boundaries of the States. 
No State has been formed by the junction of 
States or parts of States. 

156. Territories. — The Territories are 
under the control of Congress, which has the 
power to make all needful regulations for their 
government. 

Section IV. Guarantee to the States. 

1 57. Form of Government. —The United 
States guarantees to the States a republican form 
of government. 

No State government can become a monarchy 
or an aristocracy. 



MODE OF AMENDMENT. 73 

158. Protection. — The United States 
guarantees to the States protection against inva- 
sion and domestic violence. This power of pro- 
tection is intrusted to the executive. The Presi- 
dent, as commander-in-chief of the army and the 
militia, may at any time call into service a force 
sufficient for the protection of any State or all 
the States. 

ARTICLE V. 
Mode of Amendment. 

159. Constitution, How Amended. — 

Amendments may be proposed by two-thirds of 
both Houses of Congress or by a convention 
called by Congress on application of the legisla- 
tures of two-thirds of the States. Such amend- 
ments must be ratified by the legislatures of 
three-fourths of the States, or by conventions in 
three-fourths of the States. 

It will be observed that there are two modes 
of amending the Constitution. The amendments 
that have been adopted were proposed by Con- 
gress and ratified by the State legislatures. 

ARTICLE VI. 

Supremacy of the Constitution. 

160. Obligations of the Government. 

— The Constitution declares the debts contracted 



74 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

and the engagements entered into before the 
adoption of the Constitution valid. 

The object of this provision was to allay the 
fears of public creditors by proclaiming to the 
world that the United States under the new 
government considered itself in honor bound to 
pay all its debts and to keep all its engagements. 

161. Supreme Law. — The Constitution 
and the laws of the United States made in pur- 
suance thereof and all treaties made under the 
authority of the United States are the supreme 
law of the land. 

The laws of the Nation are supreme over State 
laws. 

162. Oath. — The following named officers 
are required to take an oath or affirmation to 
support the Constitution : 

1. Members of Congress. 

2. Members of State Legislatures. 

3. Executive and judicial officers of the 
United States. 

4. Executive and judicial officers of the sev- 
eral States. 

This oath or affirmation must be taken by each 
of these officers before he enters on the dis- 
charge of his duties. 

163. Religious Test.— The Constitution 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 75 

in no way interferes with any man's religious 
faith or worship. It forbids the requirement of 
any religious test as a qualification for office 
under the United States. Equality under the 
law and absolute civil and religious freedom are 
the birthright of every American. 

Religious test means the taking of a test oath to favor 
certain religious opinions as a qualification for office. 

ARTICLE VII. 

Ratification of the Constitution. 

164. Establishment. — The ratification 
of nine States was sufficient for the establish- 
ment of the Constitution. This ratification es- 
tablished for the United States u a government 
of the people, by the people and for the people.'* 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

1 65. Amendment Defined. — An amend- 
ment is an alteration or change adopted as a 
remedy for a fault in the Constitution. 

Fifteen amendments have been adopted. The 
first ten were proposed in 1789 and ratified in 
1791. They were adopted because of the pre- 
vailing feeling that the Constitution did not 
sufficiently guard the rights of the people. 

1 66. Bill of Rights. —The first ten amend- 
ments are regarded as a bill of rights, that is, a 



76 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

formal declaration of certain rights claimed by 
the people as essential to the protection of their 
lives, liberty, and property. 

FIRST AMENDMENT. 

167. Freedom of Religion. — England 
has an established church, known as the " Church 
of England," maintained by the government. 
The founders of our government thought that 
Church and State should be kept separate. 
This amendment forbids Congress to establish a 
religion or to prohibit the free exercise thereof. 
One of the dearest rights of man is the right of 
private judgment in matters of religion, and free- 
dom of worship according to the dictates of his 
own conscience. In this country a man may hold 
and practice any religion he prefers without 
having his rights as a citizen thereby impaired. 
A safe rule for our guidance is that left us by 
Washington : ' ' All those who conduct them- 
selves as worthy members of the community are 
equally entitled to the protection of the civil 
government." 

168. Freedom of Speech and of the 
Press. — The Constitution allows every man to 
speak, and write, or print whatever he pleases, 
provided by so doing he does not unjustly injure 



FIRST AND SECOND AMENDMENTS. 77 

others. In such case the injured has a remedy 
in the laws against slander and libel, that is, 
malicious and untrue statements concerning one's 
life and character. 

169. Freedom of Assembly and Peti- 
tion. — Despotic governments have often denied 
to the people the right of assembly, under the 
pretence of preventing insurrections. Kepubli- 
can government would be a failure if citizens 
had not the right of assembling for the discussion 
of questions of public interest. No people who 
are worthy of any of the privileges of freemen 
will ever surrender this inestimable right. 

Americans may assemble for any purpose, but 
the assembling must be peaceable. There is no 
encouragement here for riotous meetings or mobs. 
They must be dispersed. 

The right of petition is a necessary accompa- 
niment to the rights of free speech and free 
assembly. 

SECOND AMENDMENT. 

170. Freedom to Keep . and Bear 
Arms. — This right is fundamental. Without 
it the people would be powerless in the presence 
of any organized attempt to deprive them of 
their liberties by force. This provision does not 



78 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

prevent the enactment of laws forbidding the 
carrying of concealed weapons. 

THIRD AMENDMENT. 

171. Freedom from Compulsory 
Quartering of Soldiers. — By "quartering" 
is meant feeding and lodging. Before the Revo- 
lution the British Parliament passed a law known 
as the "Quartering Act," requiring the colonists 
to find quarters for soldiers. 

FOURTH AMENDMENT. 

172. Freedom from Unreasonable 
Searches and Seizures. — No officer can 
legally search a house without a search warrant, 
that is, a written order from a judicial officer 
authorizing him to search for stolen or smuggled 
property. 

FIFTH AMENDMENT. 

173. The Right not to be Tried for 
Crime unless on a Presentment or 
Indictment of a Grand Jury. — 

An indictment is a written accusation of a grand jury, 
prepared by a prosecuting officer, stating the offence for 
which the accused is to be tried. 

A presentment is a written accusation of a grand jury 
founded on their own personal knowledge of the facts. 



FIFTH AMENDMENT. 79 

A grand jury is a body of men, not less than twelve nor 
more than twenty-three, whose duty it is to inquire into 
charges against accused persons and, if justice demands, to 
find an indictment. A majority of the jury can indict. 

174. Not to be Twice put in Jeop- 
ardy of Life or Limb for the Same 
Offence. — This means that after an accused 
person has been convicted and sentenced, or 
acquitted of the offence charged, he shall not be 
tried for the same offence a second time. 

If, for any reason, as failure to agree, or the 
death of a juror, the jury has been discharged 
without giving a verdict ; or if the verdict has 
been set aside by the judge, as he has power to 
do in certain cases ; or if a new trial has been 
granted in his favor, the accused may be tried 
again, for in all these cases his life or limb can- 
not be said to have been put in jeopardy. 

175. Not to be Compelled to be a 
Witness against Himself. — The accused 
may make any statement, or testify on his trial, 
if he so desires. 

176. Not to be Deprived of Life, 
Liberty or Property without Due Pro- 
cess of Law. — "Due process of law" includes 
the prescribed forms for ascertaining the guilt 
or innocence of an accused person, or for deter- 
mining the titles to property. 



80 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

177. Not to Have Private Property 
Taken for Public Use without Just 
Compensation. — The right of the government 
to take land or other private property for public 
use is called the right of "eminent domain." It 
rests on the principle that the right of the indi- 
vidual should give way to the public necessity. 
Government frequently exercises this right. If 
the government and the owner cannot agree 
upon a price a jury is summoned to "assess the 
damages," that is, to determine what is a fair 
price for the property. 

SIXTH AMENDMENT. 

178. The Right of an Accused Per- 
son to a Speedy and Public Trial. — The 

trial should be speedy, since it would be unjust 
to keep any one imprisoned before trial a moment 
longer than necessary. He might be able to 
prove his innocence immediately. The trial 
should be public to insure fairness. 

179. To a Trial by a Jury of His 
State or District. — This is an additional guard 
against the hardship which would result from 
compelling a person to be tried in a place distant 
from his friends and witnesses, thereby causing 
him inconvenience and unnecessary expense. 



SEVENTH AMENDMENT. 81 

He is to be tried in the State, and if the State 
be divided into judicial districts, in the district 
in which the crime was committed. 

180. To Know of What He Is Ac- 
cused. — He has a right to see the indictment 
that he may intelligently prepare his defence. 

181. To be Confronted with the Wit- 
nesses against Him. — That he or his counsel 
by questioning them may bring out any points 
in his favor. 

182. To Have the Attendance of 
Witnesses in His Favor Compelled. — 
He is entitled to bring forward all available 
proofs of his innocence. 

183. To Have Counsel for His De- 
fence. — If he is so poor that he cannot employ 
counsel, the judge will appoint a lawyer to defend 
him, at the expense of the government. 

Counsel is one who gives legal advice or manages a case 
in court. 

seventh amendment. 

184. The Right of Trial by Jury 
Where the Value in Controversy Ex- 
ceeds Twenty Dollars. — This provision was 
adopted because of the objection that, while the 
Constitution had provided for the trial of crimes 



82 FACTS 1 OUGHT TO KNOW. 

by jury, it made no provision for such trial in 
civil cases, which might therefore be held to be 
excluded from that privilege. It seems hardly 
fair to subject the government to the expense of 
a jury trial in suits to recover trifling sums, but 
so jealous are we of the rights of citizens that 
cases are frequently tried in our courts where the 
sum in controversy is less than the expense of 
the trial to the government. 

185. To Have Facts Finally Deter- 
mined by a Jury Trial. — It is the duty of 
the judge to determiue the law, and that of the 
jury to determine the facts in a case. This pro- 
vision was inserted because it was feared that in 
cases in which an appeal had been taken from 
the decision of a lower court to the Supreme 
Court the latter, under the power given by the 
Constitution [69], might overthrow the decisions 
of juries as to matters of fact, and so reduce 
trial by jury to a mere form. 

EIGHTH AMENDMENT. 

186. Not to be Required to Furnish 
Excessive Bail. — Bail is a sum required to 
be pledged as security for the appearance of an 
accused person in court when summoned for 
trial. This term is also used to designate the 



NINTH AMENDMENT. 83 

person who gives the security. Excessive bail 
is a sum larger than is necessary to secure the 
appearance of the accused. 

187. Not to Have Excessive Fines 
Imposed. — Fines are sums of money exacted 
as punishment for offences against the laws. 
The laws regulate the amount of fines for offences 
so punishable. The amount of fine to be im- 
posed, within the limits of the law, is left to the 
discretion of the judge. 

These provisions apply only to cases in the 
United States Courts. 

188. Not to Suffer Cruel or Unusual 
Punishments. — Cruel punishments, such as 
we cannot think of without a shudder, have 
sometimes been inflicted by governments, and 
even for slight offences. Such severity is happily 
forbidden by our Constitution. Blackstone says : 
" Crimes are more effectually prevented by the 
certainty, than the severity of punishment." 

NINTH AMENDMENT. 

189. Retained Rights. — The enumera- 
tion in the Constitution of certain rights shall 
not be construed to deny or disparage other rights 
retained by the people. 

It would be impossible to frame a constitution 



84 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

that would state exactly and completely all the 
rights of the people. The object of this amend- 
ment was to dispel the fears of some that because 
certain rights are asserted in the Constitution, 
other rights, not mentioned, might be regarded 
as having been surrendered to the general gov- 
ernment. 

TENTH AMENDMENT. 

190. Reserved Powers. — This amend- 
ment guards the rights of the States and the peo- 
ple by limiting the powers of the general govern- 
ment to those granted by the Constitution. It 
was designed to allay fears which existed, that 
the National government might exercise powers 
that belonged either to the States or the people. 

ELEVENTH AMENDMENT. 1798. 

191. Judicial Power Limited. — This 
amendment limits the power of the judiciary by 
providing that no person shall bring a suit against 
a State in the United States Courts. 

TWELFTH AMENDMENT. 1804. 

192. Presidential Election. — The object 
of this amendment was to make such changes in 



AMENDMENTS. 85 

the manner of electing the President and Vice- 
President as the disputed election of 1800 showed 
to be necessary. 

THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT. 1865. 

FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT. 1868. 

FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT. 1870. 

193. Purpose. — The purpose of these 
amendments was to secure the results of the 
Civil War. 

194. Slavery. — The abolition of slavery 
was effected by the thirteenth amendment. By 
the adoption of this amendment four million 
slaves became freemen. 

195. Citzenship. — -The fourteenth amend- 
ment (Section I.) defines citizenship and limits 
the power of States with respect to the privileges 
of citizens. 

Section II. establishes a new rule of appor- 
tionment of Representatives and states the con- 
ditions on which the basis of representation may 
be reduced in any State. 

196. Exemption from Punishment 
for Treason. — The object of Section III. was 
to relieve the inhabitants of the States which 
attempted to secede from the Union in 1860-61 



86 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

from liability to the punishments for treason pre- 
scribed by law. Not one of them was ever tried 
on that charge. This section provided no other 
punishment for those who fought against the 
Union than disability to hold certain offices, and 
this provision was to apply only to those who 
previous to the rebellion had taken an oath as 
public officers to support the Constitution of the 
United States. It was further provided that 
Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses, 
might remove such disability. Now no citizen 
is under political disabilities because of the part 
he took in the Civil War. 

197. Public Debt.— Section IV. declares 
that the public debt of the United States shall 
be paid, it prohibits the payment by the United 
States or any State of debts contracted in aid of 
the rebellion and the payment by either of any 
claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave. 

198. Suffrage. — The fifteenth amendment 
guards the right of suffrage granted to the freed- 
men. The qualifications of voters is a matter 
under the control of the States, except as limited 
by the Constitution of the United States. This 
amendment limits the power of the States over 
the suffrage. 

Suffrage is the expression of opinion by voting. 



citizenship. 87 

Citizenship. 
199. Rights of American Citizens. — 

The principle announced in the Declaration of 
Independence, that all men are created equal, 
applies to all persons in the United States. The 
lives, liberty, and property of all are equally 
under the protection of the law. All have the 
right to improve their physical, mental, and 
moral powers ; to use and enjoy whatever they 
have lawfully acquired and to dispose of the 
same in any way they think best. Every one 
may worship God according to the dictates of his 
own conscience, and he cannot be deprived of any 
right of a citizen on account of his religious sen- 
timents or mode of worship. He may speak, 
and write or publish his thoughts and opinions 
on any subject, being responsible only for the 
abuse of this liberty. He has a right to privacy 
in his home and to freedom from unreasonable 
searches and seizures of his person, his house, 
his papers and all his possessions. Every citizen 
may travel throughout the whole extent of the 
country in perfect security, so far as the laws 
are concerned. If, in journeying in a foreign 
land, he receive any indignity, he may invoke 
for his aid and protection, if necessary, the whole 
power, civil and military, of his government. 



88 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

He is free to decide for whom he will vote for 
public office, and may himself aspire to any posi- 
tion within the gift of the people. He may 
establish his home and follow his vocation where- 
soever he chooses, and is at liberty to change 
either or both at his convenience. For all in- 
juries and wrongs he may receive in his person, 
property, or reputation he has a remedy in the 
laws as interpreted by free, impartial, and inde- 
pendent judges, and is entitled to receive right 
and justice freely, fully, and without delay. If 
accused of any offence against the laws, he is pre- 
sumed innocent until proved guilty, and he may 
use all the forms of legal procedure to establish 
his innocence. If found guilty, no cruel or 
unusual punishment can be inflicted on him, 
but only a penalty proportioned to the offence. 
Every one who possesses property may order to 
whom it shall go at his decease, after all just 
claims on his estate have been satisfied. 

From our review of the nature of our govern- 
ment, the provisions of the Constitution, and the 
rights of citizenship, we conclude that there can 
be no better political condition for man than that 
of an American citizen. 

200. Duties of the Citizen. — Rights and 
duties exist together. The preservation of the 



CITIZENSHIP. 89 

former can be assured only by the observance of 
the latter. It should be the aim of the citizen 
to become well acquainted with the history of his 
country, the principles upon which its govern- 
ment is founded, and the institutions which have 
promoted its welfare. Me should study the great 
questions of principle and policy, which divide 
the public attention, that he may act intelligently 
upon them ; and above all he should cultivate a 
high standard of personal morality, for the 
republican system of government is based on the 
golden rule, and he who loves justice, mercy, 
and truth will never consent that his voice and 
vote shall sanction a public wrong. 

It is the duty of the American citizen to defend 
the Union 4 ' to which we owe our safety at home 
and our consideration and dignity abroad " ; to 
honor the Constitution as "the sheet anchor of 
our liberties"; to conscientiously obey the laws 
of the land, and to aid, when necessary, in their 
just and equal enforcement ; to encourage honor 
and purity in the administration of the govern- 
ment by using his influence to place honest, faith- 
ful, and capable men in public office ; and at all 
times, in a spirit of love and loyalty to protect 
the flag of his country as the emblem of liberty, 
equal rights, and national unity. 



CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



PREAMBLE. 



1. WE the people of the United States, in 
order to form a more perfect union, establish jus- 
tice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the 
common defence, promote the general welfare, 
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
and our posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

2. Section 1 . All legislative powers herein 
granted shall be vested in a Congress of the 
United States, which shall consist of a Senate 
and House of Representatives. 

3. Sect. 2. ] The House of Representatives 
shall be composed of members chosen every 
second year by the people of the several States, 
and the electors in each State shall have the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 91 

qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State Legislature. 

4. 2 No person shall be a Representative who 
shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five 
years, and been seven years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, 
be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall 
be chosen. 

5. * 3 Representatives and direct taxes shall 
be apportioned among the several States which 
may be included within this Union, according to 
their respective numbers, which shall be deter- 
mined by adding to the whole number of free 
persons, including those bound to service for a 
term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other persons. The actual 
enumeration shall be made within three years 
after the first meeting of the Congress of the 
United States, and within every subsequent term 
of ten years, in such manner as they shall bylaw 
direct. The number of Representatives shall not 
exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
State shall have at least one Representative ; and 
until such enumeration shall be made, the State 
of New r Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 
three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and 



* Clause 3 is amended by the 14th amendment. 



92 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, 
New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania 
eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, 
North Carolina five, South Carolina five and 
Georgia three. 

6. 4 When vacancies happen in the represen- 
tation from any State, the executive authority 
thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

7. 5 The House of Representatives shall 
choose their Speaker and other officers ; and shall 
have the sole power of impeachment. 

8. Sect. 3. 1 The Senate of the United 
States shall be composed of two Senators from 
each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for 
six years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

9. 2 Immediately after they shall be assem- 
bled in consequence of the first election, they 
shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the Senators of the first 
class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
second year, of the second class at the expira- 
tion of the fourth year, and of the third class at 
the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third 
may be chosen every second year ; and if vacan- 
cies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during 
the recess of the legislature of any State, the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 93 

executive thereof may make temporary appoint- 
ments until the next meeting of the legislature, 
which shall then fill such vacancies. 

10. 3 No person shall be a Senator who shall 
not have attained to the age of thirty years, and 
been nine years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

11. 4 The Vice-President of the United States 
shall be President of the Senate, but shall have 
no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

12. 5 The Senate shall choose their other 
officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the 
absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall 
exercise the office of President of the United 
States. 

13. 6 The Senate shall have the sole power 
to try all impeachments. When sitting for that 
purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, 
the Chief Justice shall preside : and no person 
shall be convicted without the concurrence of 
two-thirds of the members present. 

14. 7 Judgment in cases of impeachment 
shall not extend further than to removal from 
office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any 
office of honor, trust, or profit under the United 



94 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

States: but the party convicted shall neverthe- 
less be liable and subject to indictment, trial, 
judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

15. Sect. 4. l The times, places, and man- 
ner of holding elections for Senators and Repre- 
sentatives, shall be prescribed in each State by 
the legislature thereof ; but the Congress may at 
any time by law make or alter such regulations, 
except as to the places of choosing Senators. 

16. 2 The Congress shall assemble at least 
once in every year, and such meeting shall be on 
the first Monday in December, unless they shall 
by law appoint a different day. 

17. Sect. 5. x Each House shall be the 
judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications 
of its own members, and a majority of each shall 
constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller 
number may adjourn from day to day, and may 
be authorized to compel the attendance of absent 
members, in such manner, and under such penal- 
ties as each House may provide. 

18. 2 Each House may determine the rules 
of its proceedings, punish its members for dis- 
orderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of 
two-thirds, expel a member. 

19. 3 Each House shall keep a journal of its 
proceedings, and from time to time publish the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 95 

same, excepting such parts as may in their judg- 
ment require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of 
the members of either House on any question 
shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, 
be entered on the journal. 

20. 4 Neither House, during the session of 
Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, 
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any 
other place than that in which the two Houses 
shall be sitting. 

21. Sect. 6. l The Senators and Repre- 
sentatives shall receive a compensation for their 
services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out 
of the Treasury of the United States. They 
shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their 
respective Houses, and in going to and returning 
from the same ; and for any speech or debate in 
either House, they shall not be questioned in 
any other place. 

22. 2 No Senator or Representative shall, 
during the time for which he was elected, be 
appointed to any civil office under the authority 
of the United States, which shall have been 
created, or the emoluments whereof shall have 
been increased during such time ; and no person 



96 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

holding any office under the United States, shall 
be a member of either House during his continu- 
ance in office. 

23. Sect. 7. x All bills for raising revenue 
shall originate in the House of Representatives ; 
but the Senate may propose or concur with 
amendments as on other bills. 

24. 2 Every bill which shall have passed the 
House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, 
before it become a law, be presented to the Presi- 
dent of the United States ; if he approve he shall 
sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his 
objections, to that House in which it shall have 
originated, who shall enter the objections at 
large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider 
it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of 
that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall 
be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other House, by which it shall likewise be recon- 
sidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that 
House, it shall become a Jaw. But in all such 
cases the votes of both Houses shall be deter- 
mined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
persons voting for and against the bill shall be 
entered on the journal of each House respectively. 
If any bill shall not be returned by the President 
within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 97 

have been presented to him, the same shall be a 
law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
the Congress by their adjournment prevent its 
return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

25. 3 Every order, resolution, or vote to 
which the concurrence of the Senate and House 
of Eepresentatives may be necessary (except on 
a question of adjournment) shall be presented 
to the President of the United States ; and before 
the same shall take effect, shall be approved by 
him, or being disapproved by him, shall be re- 
passed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, according to the rules and limi- 
tations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

26. Sect. 8. The Congress shall have power 
— x To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, 
and excises ; to pay the debts and provide for 
the common defence and general welfare of the 
United States ; but all duties, imposts, and 
excises shall be uniform throughout the United 
States. 

27. 2 To borrow money on the credit of the 
United States. 

28. 3 To regulate commerce with foreign 
nations, and among the several States, and with 
the Indian tribes. 

29. 4 To establish an uniform rule of natural- 

7 



98 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

ization, and uniform laws on the subject of 
bankruptcies throughout the United States. 

30. 5 To coin money, regulate the value 
thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard 
of weights and measures. 

31. 6 To provide for the punishment of 
counterfeiting the securities and current coin of 
the United States. 

32. 7 To establish post offices and post roads. 

33. 8 To promote the progress of science 
and useful arts, by securing for limited times to 
authors and inventors the exclusive right to their 
respective writings and discoveries. 

34. 9 To constitute tribunals inferior to the 
Supreme Court. 

35. 10 To define and punish piracies and 
felonies committed on the high seas, and offences 
against the law of nations. 

36. n To declare war, grant letters of marque 
and reprisal, and make rules^concerning captures 
on land and water. 

37. 12 To raise and support armies, but no 
appropriation of money to that use shall be for a 
longer term than two years. 

38. 13 To provide and maintain a navy. 

39. 14 To make rules for the government 
and regulation of the land and naval forces. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 99 

40. 15 To provide for calling forth the militia 
to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insur- 
rections, and repel invasions. 

41. 16 To provide for organizing, arming, 
and disciplining the militia, and for governing 
such part of them as may be employed in the 
service of the United States, reserving to the 
States respectively, the appointment of the offi- 
cers, and the authority of training the militia 
according to the discipline prescribed by Con- 
gress. 

42. 17 To exercise exclusive legislation in all 
cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceed- 
ing ten miles square) as may, by cession of par- 
ticular States, and the acceptance of Congress, 
become the seat of the government of the United 
States, and to exercise like authority over all 
places purchased by the consent of the legislature 
of the State in which the same shall be, for the 
erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock- 
yards, and other needful buildings ; and 

43. 18 To make all laws which shall be neces- 
sary and proper for carrying into execution the 
foregoing powers, and all other powers vested 
by this Constitution in the government of the 
United States, or in any department or officer 
thereof. 



100 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

44. Sect. 9. l The migration or importa- 
tion of such persons, as any of the States now 
existing shall think proper to admit, shall not 
be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 
one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax 
or duty may be imposed on such importation, 
not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

45. 2 The privilege of the writ of habeas 
corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in 
cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety 
may require" it. 

46. 3 No bill of attainder or ex post facto 
law shall be passed. 

47. 4 No capitation, or other direct tax, shall 
be laid, unless in proportion to the census or 
enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

48. 5 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles 
exported from any State. 

49. 6 No preference shall be given by any 
regulation'of commerce or revenue to the ports 
of one State over those of another; nor shall 
vessels bound to, or from, one State be obliged 
to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

50. 7 No money shall be drawn from the 
treasury, but in consequence of appropriations 
made by law ; and a regular statement and ac- 
count of the receipts and expenditures of all 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 101 

public money shall be published from time to 
time. 

51. 8 No title of nobility shall be granted by 
the United States ; and no person holding any 
office of profit or trust under them shall, without 
the consent of the Congress, accept of any 
present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind 
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign 
state. 

52. Sect. 10. 1 No State shall enter into 
any treaty, alliance, or confederation ; grant 
letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; 
emit bills of credit ; make anything but gold and 
silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass 
any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law 
impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant 
any title of nobility. 

53. 2 No State shall, without the consent of 
the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on 
imports or exports, except what may be abso- 
lutely necessary for executing its inspection 
laws : and the net produce of all duties and 
imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, 
shall be for the use of the treasury of the United 
States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the 
revision and control of the Congress. 

54. 3 No State shall, without the consent of 



102 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, 
or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another State, or 
with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless 
actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as 
will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

55. Section 1. l The executive power shall 
be vested in a President of the United States of 
America. He shall hold his office during the 
term of four years, and, together with the Vice- 
President, chosen for the same term, be elected, 
as follows : — 

56. 2 Each State shall appoint, in such man- 
ner as the legislature thereof may direct, a num- 
ber of electors, equal to the whole number of 
Senators and Representatives to which the State 
may be entitled in the Congress : but no Senator 
or Representative, or person holding an office of 
trust or profit under the United States, shall be 
appointed an elector. 

3 [The electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of 
whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of 
the same State with themselves. And they shall 
make a list of all the persons voted for, and of 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 103 

the number of votes for each ; which list they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the 
seat of the government of the United States, 
directed to the President of the Senate. The 
President of the Senate shall, in the presence of 
the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates, and the votes shall then be 
counted. The person having the greatest num- 
ber of votes shall be the President, if such num- 
ber be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed ; and if there be more than one who 
have such majority, and have an equal number 
of votes, then the House of Representatives 
shall immediately choose by ballot one of them 
for President ; and if no person have a majority, 
then from the five highest on the list the said 
House shall in like manner choose the President. 
But in choosing the President the votes shall be 
taken by States, the representation from each 
State having one vote ; a quorum for this pur- 
pose shall consist of a member or members from 
two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all 
the States shall be necessary to a choice. In 
every case, after the choice of the President, the 
person having the greatest number of votes of 
the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if 
there should remain two or more who have equal 



104 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

votes, the Senate shall choose from them by 
ballot the Vice-President.] 

Clause 3 is superseded by the 12th amendment. 

57. 4 The Congress may determine the time 
of choosing the electors, and the day on which 
they shall give their votes ; which clay shall be 
the same throughout the United States. 

58. 5 No person except a natural born citi- 
zen, or a citizen of the United States at the time 
of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be 
eligible to the office of President ; neither shall 
any person be eligible to that office who shall 
not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, 
and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

59. 6 In case of the removal of the President 
from office, or of his death, resignation, or ina- 
bility to discharge the powers and duties of the 
said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice- 
President, and the Congress may by law provide 
for the case of removal, death, resignation, or 
inability, both of the President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, declaring what officer shall then act as 
President, and such officer shall act accordingly, 
until the disability be removed, or a President 
shall be elected. 

60. 7 The President shall, at stated times, 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 105 

receive for his services, a compensation, which 
shall neither be increased nor diminished during 
the period for which he shall have been elected, 
and he shall not receive within that period any 
other emolument from the United States, or any 
of them. 

61. 8 Before he enter on the execution of his 
office, he shall take the following oath or affirma- 
tion : — 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
faithfully execute the office of President of the 
United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution 
of the United States." 

62. Sect. 2. l The President shall be Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the army and navy of the 
United States, and of the militia of the several 
States, when called into the actual service of the 
United States ; he may require the opinion, in 
writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subject relating 
to the duties of their respective offices, and he 
shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons 
for offences against the United States, except in 
cases of impeachment. 

63. 2 He shall have power, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, to make trea- 



106 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

ties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present 
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 
appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all 
other officers of the United States, whose appoint- 
ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and 
which shall be established by law : but the Con- 
gress may by law vest the appointment of such 
inferior officers, as they think proper, in the 
President alone, in the courts of law, or in the 
heads of departments. 

64. 3 The President shall have power to fill 
up all vacancies that may happen during the 
recess of the Senate, by granting commissions 
which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

65. Sect. 3. He shall from time to time 
give to the Congress information of the state of 
the Union, and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, 
convene both Houses, or either of them, and in 
case of disagreement between them, with respect 
to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them 
to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall 
receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; 
he shall take care that the laws be faithfully 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 107 

executed, and shall commission all the officers of 
the United States. 

66. Sect. 4. The President, Vice-President* 
and all civil officers of the United States, shall 
be removed from office on impeachment for, and 
conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high 
crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

67. Section 1. The judicial power of the 
United States shall be vested in one Supreme 
Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress 
may from time to time ordain and establish. 
The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior 
courts, shall hold their offices during good behav- 
ior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their 
services, a compensation, which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. 

68. Sect. 2. l The judicial power shall ex- 
tend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under 
this Constitution, the laws of the United States* 
and treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
their authority ; — to all cases affecting ambassa- 
dors, other public ministers, and consuls; — ta 
all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; 
— to controversies to which the United States 



108 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

shall be a party ; — to controversies between two 
or more States ; — between a State and citizens 
of another State ; — between citizens of different 
States ; — between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, 
and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and 
foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

69. 2 In all cases affecting ambassadors, 
other public ministers and consuls, and those in 
which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court 
shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other 
cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall 
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and 
fact, with such exceptions, and under such regu- 
lations as the Congress shall make. 

70. 3 The trial of all crimes, except in cases 
of impeachment, shall be by jury ; and such 
trial shall be held in the State where the said 
crimes shall have been committed ; but when not 
committed within any State, the trial shall be at 
such place or places as the Congress may by law 
have directed. 

71. Sect. 3. l Treason against the United 
States, shall consist only in levying war against 
them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort. No person shall be con- 
victed of treason unless on the testimony of two 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 109 

witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession 
in open court. 

72. 2 The Congress shall have power to de- 
clare the punishment of treason, but no attainder 
of treason shall work corruption of blood, or 
forfeiture except during the life of the person 
attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

73. Section 1. Full faith and credit shall 
be given in each State to the public acts, records, 
and judicial proceedings of every other State. 
And the Congress may by general laws prescribe 
the manner in which such acts, records, and 
proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

74. Sect. 2. x The citizens of each State 
shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities 
of citizens in the several States. 

75. 2 A person charged in any State with 
treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee 
from justice, and be found in another State, 
shall, on demand of the executive authority of 
the State from which he fled, be delivered up to- 
be removed to the State having jurisdiction of 
the crime. 

76. 3 No person held to service or labor in 
one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into 



110 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

another, shall, in consequence of any law or 
regulation therein, be discharged from such 
service or labor, but shall be delivered up on 
claim of the party to whom such service or labor 
may be due. 

77. Sect. 3. l New States may be admitted 
by the Congress into this Union ; but no new 
State shall be formed or erected within the juris- 
diction of any other State ; nor any State be 
formed by the junction of two or more States, 
or parts of States, without the consent of the 
legislatures of the States concerned as well as of 
the Congress. 

78. 2 The Congress shall have power to dis- 
pose of and make all needful rules and regula- 
tions respecting the territory or other property 
belonging to the United States; and nothing in 
this Constitution shall be so construed as to 
prejudice any claims of the United States, or of 
any particular State. 

79. Sect. 4. The United States shall guar- 
antee to every State in this Union a republican 
form of government, and shall protect each of 
them against invasion, and on application of the 
legislature, or of the executive (when the legisla- 
ture cannot be convened) against domestic vio- 
lence. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Ill 

ARTICLE V. 

80. The Congress, whenever two-thirds of 
both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall pro- 
pose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two-thirds of 
the several States, shall call a convention for 
proposing amendments, which, in either case, 
shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part 
of this Constitution, when ratified by the legisla- 
tures of three-fourths of the several States, or by 
conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one 
or the other mode of ratification may be pro- 
posed by Congress ; provided that no amend- 
ment which may be made prior to the year one 
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any 
manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the 
ninth section of the first article ; and that no 
State, without its consent, shall be deprived of 
its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

81. l All debts contracted and engagements 
entered into, before the adoption of this Consti- 
tution, shall be as valid against the United States 
under this Constitution, as under the confedera- 
tion. 



112 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

82. 2 This Constitution, and the laws of the 
United States which shall be made in pursuance 
thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be 
made, under the authority of the United States, 
shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the 
judges in every State shall be bound thereby, 
anything in the Constitution or laws of any State 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 

83. 3 The Senators and Representatives before 
mentioned, and the members of the several State 
legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, 
both of the United States and of the several 
States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to 
support this Constitution; but no religious test 
shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. 

84. The ratification of the conventions of 
nine States, shall be sufficient for the establish- 
ment of this Constitution between the States so 
ratifying the same. 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of 
the States present, the seventeenth day of Sep- 
tember, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 113 

independence of the United States of America 
the twelfth. 

In ivitness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed 
our names. 

George Washington, President, 

and deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire. — John Langdon, Nicholas 
Gilman, 

Massachusetts. — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus 
King. 

Connecticut. — William Samuel Johnson, 
Roger Sherman. 

New York. — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. — William Livingston, David 
Brearly, William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas 
Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas 
Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson r 
Gouverneur Morris. 

Delaware. — George Read, Gunning Bedford, 
Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob 
Broom. 

Maryland. — James McHenry, Daniel of St* 
Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. 

Virginia. — John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 
8 



114 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

North Carolina. — William Blount, Richard 
Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. 

South Carolina. — John Rutledge, Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce 
Butler. 

Georgia. — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary. 



ARTICLES 



in addition to, and amendment of, 

The Constitution of the United States of 
America. 

Proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legisla- 
tures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth 
article of the original Constitution. 

85. Article I. — Congress shall make no law 
respecting an establishment of religion, or pro- 
hibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the 
freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right 
of the people peaceably to assemble, and to peti- 
tion the government for a redress of grievances. 

86. Art. II. — A well regulated militia, being 
necessary to the security of a free State, the 
right of the people to keep and bear arms shall 
not be infringed. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 115 

87. Art. III. No soldier shall, in time of 
peace, be quartered in any house, without the 
consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in 
a manner to be prescribed by law. 

88. Art. IV. The right of the people to 
be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
effects, against unreasonable searches and seiz- 
ures, shall not be violated, and no warrants 
shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported ^ 
by oath or affirmation, and particularly describ- 
ing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 

89. Art. V. No person shall be held to 
answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, 
unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand 
jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service 
in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any 
person be subject for the same offence to be 
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall 
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, 
or property, without due process of law ; nor 
shall private property be taken for public use, 
without just compensation. 

90. Art. VI. In all criminal prosecutions, 
the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and 



116 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

public trial, by an impartial jury of the State 
and district wherein the crime shall have been 
committed, which district shall have been pre- 
viously ascertained by law, and to be informed 
of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be 
confronted with the witnesses against him ; to 
have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses 
in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel 
for his defence. 

91. Art. VII. In suits at common law, 
where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall 
be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall 
be otherwise re-examined in any court of the 
United States, than according to the rules of the 
common law. 

92. Art. VIII. Excessive bail shall not be 
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel 
and unsual punishments inflicted. 

93. Art. IX. The enumeration in the Con- 
stitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed 
to deny or disparage others retained by the 
people. 

94. Art. X. The powers not delegated to 
the United States by the Constitution, nor pro- 
hibited by it to the States, are reserved to the 
States respectively, or to the people. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 117 

95. Art. XI. The judicial power of the 
United States shall not be construed to extend 
to any suit in law or equity commenced or prose- 
cuted against one of the United States by citi- 
zens of another State, or by citizens or subjects 
of any foreign State. 

96. Art. XII. * The electors shall meet in 
their respective States, and vote by ballot for 
President and Vice-President, one of whom, at 
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
State with themselves ; they shall name in their 
ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- 
President, and they shall make distinct lists of 
all persons voted for as President, and of all 
persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the 
number of votes for each, which lists they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat 
of the government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate ; — the President 
of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the cer- 
tificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; — 
the person having the greatest number of votes 
for President, shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of 
electors appointed ; and if no person have such 



118 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

majority, then from the persons having the high- 
est numbers, not exceeding three on the list of 
those voted for as President, the House of Rep- 
resentatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, 
the President. But in choosing the President, 
the votes shall be taken by States, the representa- 
tion from each- State having one vote ; a quorum 
for this purpose shall consist of a member or 
members from two-thirds of the States, and a 
majority of all the States shall be necessary to a 
choice. And if the House of Representatives 
shall not choose a President whenever the right 
of choice shall devolve upon them, before the 
fourth day of March next following, then the 
Vice-President shall act as President, as in the 
case of the death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. 

97. 2 The person having the greatest num- 
ber of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice- 
President, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed, and if no 
person have a majority, then from the two highest 
numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the 
Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two-thirds of the whole number of 
Senators, and a majority of the whole number 
shall be necessary to a choice. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 119 

98. 3 But no person constitutionally ineligible 
to the office of President shall be eligible to that 
of Vice-President of the United States. 

99. Art. XIII. Sect. 1. Neither slavery 
nor involuntary servitude, except as a punish- 
ment for crime whereof the party shall have been 
duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

100. Sect. 2. Congress shall have power 
to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

101. Art. XIV. Sect. 1. All persons born 
or naturalized in the United States, and subject 
to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the 
United States and of the State wherein they 
reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any 
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or 
property, without due process of law, nor deny 
to any person within its jurisdiction the equal 
protection of the laws. 

102. Sect. 2. Representatives shall be 
apportioned among the several States according 
to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each State, excluding 
Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote 
at any election for the choice of electors for 



120 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

President and Vice-President of the United States, 
Representatives in Congress, the executive and 
judicial officers of a State, or the members of the 
legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years 
of age, and citizens of the United States, or in 
any way abridged, except for participation in 
rebellion or other crime, the basis of representa- 
tion therein shall be reduced in the proportion 
which the number of such male citizens shall 
bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty- 
one years of age in such State. 

103. Sect. 3. No person shall be a Sena- 
tor, or Representative in Congress, or elector of 
President and Vice-President, or hold any office, 
civil or military, under the United States, or 
under any State, who, having previously taken 
an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an 
officer of the United States, or as a member of 
any State legislature, or as an executive or judi- 
cial officer of any State, to support the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, shall have engaged in 
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or 
given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. 
But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of 
each House, remove such disability. 

104. Sect. 4. The validity of the public 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 121 

debt of the United States, authorized by law, 
including debts incurred for payment of pensions 
and bounties for services in suppressing insur- 
rection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. 

But neither the United States, nor any State, 
shall assume or pay any debt or obligation 
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against 
the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, 
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and 
void. 

105. Sect. 5. The Congress shall have 
power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provisions of this article. 

106. Art. XV. Sect. 1. The right of citi- 
zens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States, or by 
any State, on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude. 

107. Sect. 2. The Congress shall have 
power to enforce this article by appropriate leg- 
islation. 



GLOSSAKY. 

Additional definitions and explanations of words and 
phrases used in the Constitution. The number following 
each word or phrase indicates the clause in the Constitu- 
tion in which it occurs. 

Attainder of Treason. (72.) The loss 
of property and rights caused by the conviction 
and sentence to death of a person for treason. 
By the common law a person so sentenced was 
said to be attainted, that is, stained or blackened. 
He was deprived of all legal rights. He was 
dead in law before the execution of his sentence. 
All his property was forfeited, that is, taken by 
the government. His blood was said to be cor- 
rupted so that he could not inherit real estate, 
as houses and lands, nor could his family inherit 
real estate from him or through him from any 
ancestor. Thus the innocent suffered with the 
guilty. The Constitution forbids such injustice 
and confines the punishment exclusively to the 
offender. 

Bankruptcies. (29.) Bankruptcy is the 
state of being bankrupt or unable to pay one's 
debts. A bankrupt law is a law providing for 
the equal distribution of the property of a bank- 
rupt among his creditors, and, by which, on 



GLOSSARY. 123 

giving up his property he may be discharged from 
legal obligation to make further payment. Con- 
gress has power to make bankrupt laws which 
shall be of equal authority everywhere within 
the United States. 

Basis of Representation. (102.) The 
number of inhabitants entitled to one Representa- 
tive in Congress. 

Bounties. (104.) Money offered or given 
to men to induce them to enlist in the army or 
navy. 

Capital or otherwise Infamous Crime. 
(89.) A capital crime is one punishable by 
death. The Supreme Court has defined an in- 
famous crime as one punishable at hard labor 
for a term of years. 

Capitation Tax. (47.) A poll tax or a 
tax on the person without reference to property. 

Captures. (36.) Property captured from 
a hostile government or its subjects. Such 
property is termed prize, and the money obtained 
by its sale and distributed among the captors is 
commonly called prize money. 

Cession. (42.) The giving up of property, 
as territory and rights. 

Clear — Enter. (49.) When a vessel leaves 
a port the captain must obtain a clearance ; that 



124 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

is, a certificate from the collector of customs at 
that port, stating that all fees having been paid 
and all requirements of the law having been 
complied with, the vessel has been cleared at the 
custom-house and may leave the port. So when 
a vessel enters a port it is required that the cap- 
tain shall report the arrival, give a statement of 
the cargo, and show the clearance he received at 
the port from which he came. This is termed 
an entry. The clause in the Constitution relat- 
ing to the clearance and entry of vessels is liable 
to be misunderstood. The meaning is that ves- 
sels bound to a foreign country from any State, 
or from a foreign country to any State shall not 
be obliged to clear or enter in another State, and 
that vessels bound from one State to another 
shall not be obliged to clear or enter in a third 
State. Before the Revolution, Great Britain 
had compelled American vessels bound to foreign 
ports to go first to England. It was the purpose 
of the Constitution to place the States on a basis 
of equality as regards trade. In the coasting 
trade between ports of the United States vessels 
are not generally required to clear or enter. 

Commission. (65.) To give to a public 
officer a formal written authority, called a com- 
mission, to perform the duties of his office. 



GLOSSARY. 125 

Compulsory Process. (90.) Written 
orders issued by a court to compel the attendance 
of parties or witnesses. 

Corruption of Blood. (12.) See attain- 
der of treason. 

Counterfeiting. (31.) The making of 
copies of coin, or government securities, with 
design to defraud by passing the imitation for 
the real. 

Current Coin. (31.) Coin which circu- 
lates freely among the people. 

District. (42, 90.) A portion of the United 
States or of a State set apart for governmental 
purposes. A Congressional district is a portion 
of a State entitled to one Representative in 
Congress. 

Duty of Tonnage. (54.) A tax on a 
vessel in proportion to the number of tons of 
freight it can carry. 

Electors. (3.) Citizens having the right 
to vote. 

Electors. (56, 96, 97, 102.) Citizens ap- 
pointed to elect the President and Vice-Presi- 
dent. 

Emolument. (51.) Profit, reward, or 
advantage received in return for a favor done 
to another. 



126 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Engagements. (81.) Promises, pledges, 
or contracts. 

Equity. (68, 95.) Equity is " natural 
justice." It is impossible for any system of 
laws framed by man to provide a remedy suited 
to every case that may arise. In some cases 
the law furnishes no remedy. In others a party 
may have the law on his side while natural 
justice would favor his opponent. Here equity 
steps in and gives relief against the deficiency 
or severity of the law. The Constitution refers 
to "cases in law or equity" (QS)^ and "suit in 
law or equity" (95), terms alike in meaning. 
A case or suit is any question submitted to a 
court by a party who asserts his rights in the 
form prescribed by law. A case in law is one 
provided for by positive law. A case in equity 
is one that must be decided by the principles of 
equity. In England there are two classes of 
courts, courts of law and of equity. In this 
country but one set of tribunals was organized, 
which are courts of law and equity alike. 

Forfeiture. (72.) See attainder of treason. 

Held to Answer. (89.) Detained to await 
a trial. 

Immunities. (74, 101.) Freedom from 
duties or obligations required of others. 



GLOSSARY. 127 

Intents and Purposes. (80.) In all 

senses or meanings. 

Involuntary Servitude. (99.) Serving 
another against one's will. 

Jeopardy of Life or Limb. (89.) An 
old legal phrase which originated probably at a 
time when certain offences were punished by 
mutilation, that is, by depriving the offender of 
a limb. Men who had written libels were some- 
times punished by the cutting off of the offend- 
ing member, the right hand. The present mean- 
ing is exposure to loss or injury by any legal 
punishment. 

Judgment. (14.) The decision of a court 
or the sentence pronounced by a judge. 

Jurisdiction. (68, 69, 99, 101.) The ex- 
tent of the authority of a government or a court. 
A court in which a suit may originate or a 
trial commence is said to have original juris- 
diction. (69.) A court which has the power 
to review the decision of a lower court in 
cases appealed therefrom has appellate jurisdic- 
tion. (69.) 

Admiralty and maritime jurisdiction (68) in- 
cludes cases arising on the sea or other navigable 
waters, or connected with ships and seamen ; as, 
collisions, suits to recover the wages of seamen, 



128 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

and contracts for carrying freight. The word 
admiralty is derived from admiral, an officer of 
high rank in the navy. Admiralty courts in 
England had jurisdiction in cases connected with 
war ships, and maritime courts in cases relating 
to merchant ships. 

u In the Constitution the word maritime was 
doubtless added to guard against any narrow 
interpretation of the word admiralty." 1 — Story. 

Law, Common. (91.) Law may be divided 
into two kinds, — the unwritten or common law, 
and the written or statute law. The common 
law consists of customs and rules of action 
which derive their authority from long usage and 
because they have been recognized universally 
as having the force of law though not found in 
any act or statute of a law-making body. The 
common law was brought from England by the 
colonists and established here as the basis of 
law in all the States except Louisiana. The 
Constitution of the United States and the consti- 
tutions of the several States contain many com- 
mon law principles. The principles of the com- 
mon law are found in the records of courts, in 
books in which the decisions of judges are re- 
corded, and in the writings of men learned in 
the law which have come down to us from ancient 



GLOSSARY. 129 

times. In cases of doubt it is for the judges 
in the several courts of justice to decide what is 
the common law. 

In the language of Sir Matthew Hale, a learned 
Chief Justice of England : "The common law is 
not the product of the wisdom of some one man, 
or society of men in any one age, but the wisdom, 
counsel, experience, and observation of many 
ages of wise and observing men/' 

The laws of Louisiana, which was settled by 
the French, are based on the forms and customs 
of French law. 

Law of Nations. (35.) The system of 
rules established by civilized nations by which 
they have agreed to be governed in matters relat- 
ing to their respective rights and duties. 

Laws, Inspection. (53.) Laws made by 
a State requiring certain articles of commerce to 
be examined by an officer called an inspector. 
The grades and qualities of such articles as 
butter, lard, flour, petroleum, etc., are fixed, and 
penalties imposed for frauds. The Constitution 
allows States, with the consent of Congress, to 
levy duties on goods brought into and carried 
out of the States to meet the expense of their 
inspection laws, but the net produce of such 
duties, that is, the amount in excess of the 



130 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

necessary expense, shall be for the nse of the 
treasury of the United States. 

Letters of Marque and Reprisal. (36, 
52.) Commissions granted by a government to 
private persons, authorizing them to seize the 
property of another government or of its subjects 
in retaliation for wrongs and injuries received 
from that government and which it has failed to 
redress. Private armed vessels whose owners 
have such commissions are called privateers. 

Militia. (40, 62,86.) The enrolled militia 
includes all able-bodied men in the Nation 
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, 
except members of the regular army and certain 
classes that are exempt by the laws from military 
service ; as, judges of courts, sheriffs, clergy- 
men, physicians, railroad conductors and engi- 
neers, and some other classes. Each State has 
its active militia, made up of volunteers, organized 
into companies, regiments, and brigades, equipped 
by the State, and subject to discipline and drill. 
In case of war or other occasion needing the ser- 
vices of soldiers, the active militia is ordered into 
service before others of the enrolled militia. It 
is not probable that the unorganized militia will 
ever be ordered into service. Should danger 
from foreign or domestic foes ever threaten the 



GLOSSARY. 131 

government, volunteer militia would spring to 
its defence in numbers sufficient to meet any 
emergency. 

Natural Born Citizen. (58.) One born 
within the jurisdiction and allegiance of the 
United States. Children born in other countries, 
if their parents are citizens of the United States, 
are regarded as citizens of this country. 

Pensions. (104.) Periodical payments by 
a government for disabilities, such as wounds, 
loss of limbs or health incurred in its service, 
or money paid for past services. No other gov- 
ernment ever showed such liberality in the pay- 
ment of pensions to its defenders as that of the 
United States. The amount expended for this 
purpose during the year ending July 1, 1893, 
was nearly 8160,000,000. Our government has 
pensioned not only the disabled soldiers of the 
Civil War and all surviving soldiers of previous 
wars, but the widows of soldiers, and army nurses. 
On June 30, 1893, there were thirteen widows of 
Revolutionary soldiers on the pension rolls. 

Persons Bound to Service. (5.) Ap- 
prentices serving under a contract between their 
parents or guardians and their employers to 
remain with the latter a specified number of 
years, generally until twenty-one years of age. 



132 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Piracies. (35.) Robberies on the high 
seas. 

Redress of Grievances. (85.) Repara- 
tion for wrongs or a making good for loss suf- 
fered from wrongs, injuries, or oppression. 

Securities. (31.) Evidences of debt. Bonds 
and treasury notes are government securities. 
They secure to the holders the payment of the 
sums mentioned on their face. 

Slavery— Slave. (99, 104.) It is notice- 
able that neither of these words was used in 
the Constitution until the abolition of slavery. 
The framers of the Constitution were evidently 
ashamed to insert these words in an instrument 
intended for the government of freemen. There 
are, however, three phrases which refer to slaves. 
They are "all other persons" (5), "such per- 
sons" (44), and "person held to service or 
labor" (76). The first of these provisions has 
been explained in another place ; the second pro- 
hibited Congress from abolishing the slave trade 
until 1808, and the third required that slaves 
owned in one State escaping into another should 
be delivered up to their owners. The Northern 
or non-slaveholding States allowed these provis- 
ions to be inserted in a spirit of concession and 
compromise, as the formation of a Union seemed 



GLOSSARY. 133 

impossible unless they yielded these points to 
the prejudice and supposed interests of the slave 
States. Congress abolished the slave trade 
in 1808, the thirteenth amendment abolished 
slavery in 1865, and the fourteenth amendment 
in 1868 established a new rule of apportionment. 
By the adoption of the thirteenth amendment, all 
previous provisions relating to slavery were, of 
course, abolished. 

Standard of Weights and Measures. 
(30.) An established rule or model by which 
all weights and measures may be tested to ascer- 
tain if they are correct. Congress has never ex- 
ercised the power to fix a standard, given it by 
the Constitution, that is to say, Congress has 
passed no law declaring that any standard shall 
be used throughout the United States. But by 
Act of Congress in 1828 the brass troy pound 
procured by the United States minister at Lon- 
don, was adopted as the standard troy pound for 
the purposes of coinage, and the Director of 
the Mint was ordered to procure a series of 
weights and measures corresponding to the afore- 
said troy pound. Standards of length, capacity, 
and weight were adopted by the Treasury De- 
partment in 1832. In 1836 the Secretary of 
State was directed to cause a complete set of all 



134 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

the weights and measures adopted as standards 
to be delivered to the governor of each State. 
The several States having adopted these standards 
the United States has practically a uniform sys- 
tem of weights and measures. An Act of Con- 
gress of 1866 authorized the use of the metric 
system, but did not establish it. 



SEARCH LIGHT STUDIES. 

" We '11 read, answer, and think upon this."— Shakespeare. 

1. Who were some of the prominent members 
of the Constitutional Convention? 

2. Who were the great leaders of the Federal- 
ist and Anti-Federalist parties ? 

3. Why should Congress have exclusive 
authority over the seat of government? 

4. Are the Indians in this country citizens of 
the United States? 

5. Why should less than a quorum of either 
House of Congress have power to compel the 
attendance of absent members ? 

6. How can they exercise this power? 

7. Why are officers of the United States gov- 
ernment forbidden to accept presents from for- 
eign governments ? 

8. Have such presents, sent to public officers, 
ever been retained by our government? 

9 . A distinguished writer has said : ' ; The 
American citizen has two loyalties and two patriot- 
isms." Explain this expression. 



136 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

10. What now constitutes legal tender in the 
United States? 

11. The United States government is often 
called a government of "delegated powers." 
Why? 

12. Why a government of "limited powers " ? 

13. On what principle does a Constitutional 
amendment, which has been ratified by three- 
fourths of the States, bind a State which has not 
ratified it? 

14. Can a Chinaman or a Japanese be nat- 
uralized ? 

15. Why should a two- thirds rather than a 
majority vote be required to expel a member of 
Congress ? 

16. Can an officer escape impeachment by 
resigning his office? 

17. What is the reason for the provision that 
Congress shall meet yearly ? 

18. Who is responsible for the character of 
legislation ? 

19. Ought a Representative to vote as a 
majority of his constituents desire, or in accord- 
ance with his own convictions? 

20. Would a Senator or a Representative lose 
his seat by removing from the State for or in 
which he was elected? 



8EARGH LIGHT STUDIES. 137 

21. When may the Houses of Congress be 
said to be acting as judicial rather than legisla- 
tive bodies? 

22. Has any person ever been convicted of 
treason against the United States? 

23. Who was tried on that charge and ac- 
quitted ? 

24. Has a resident of the city of Washington 
the right to vote in a Presidential election ? 

25. The circumstances of the admission of 
West Virginia into the Union as a State were 
peculiar. Can you state them? 

26. Are children citizens as well as men and 
women ? 

27. Why is "President" an appropriate title 
for the highest officer of our government? 

28. Is it proper to refer to the officers of the 
government as ' ' our rulers " ? 

29. Give an instance of the exercise of the 
veto power. Of the "pocket veto." 

30. Has Congress the power in any case to 
diminish the salaries of the Justices of the 
Supreme Court ? 

31. What is meant by the term "to declare 
war"? 

32. Can a person be a citizen of a State 
without being a citizen of the United States ? 



138 FACTS I OUGHT TO .KNOW. 

33. Which of the powers of Congress includes 
the power of acquiring territory, either by con- 
quest or by treaty? 

34. What Vice-President was elected by the 
Senate ? 

35. One of the duties of the President is to 
receive ambassadors. Who may reject or dis- 
miss them ? 

36. Why is it provided that the salary of the 
President shall not be increased or diminished 
during his term of office ? 

37. Who may legally suspend the writ of 
habeas corpus? 

38. By whom has that writ been suspended? 

39. Why should each State be allowed a 
number of Presidential electors equal to the 
whole number of Senators and Representatives 
to which it is entitled in Congress? 

40. Can a person who is not twenty-five years 
of age be legally elected to the House of Repre- 
sentatives ? 

41. Can either House punish those who are 
not its members ? 

42. What conditions does the Constitution 
assume to be necessary to the privilege of voting? 

43. Can a State give the privilege of voting, 
at all elections, to women ? 



SEARCH LIGHT STUDIES. 139 

44. In what way does the District of Columbia 
resemble a Territory? How does it differ from 
a Territory? 

45. Art. I., Sec. 8, Clause 18 of the Con- 
stitution relates to incidental or implied powers 
of Congress. Name some of these powers that 
have been exercised. 

46. What parties have favored giving the 
National government as much power as possible 
under this clause? What parties have been 
inclined to give little power under it ? 

47. Was the prohibition of the slave trade by 
Congress the exercise of an express or an implied 
power ? 

48. Why is the term of office of the Presi- 
dent often called his 4 ' administration " ? 

49. What is the meaning of the terms " broad 
construction" and "strict construction" in con- 
nection with the Constitution ? 

50. How may a joint resolution of Congress 
be distinguished from a concurrent resolution? 
Give an example of each. 

51. What places outside the boundaries of 
the United States are subject to the jurisdiction 
of the United States ? 

52. Give the names of the following officers 
and tell of what State each is a citizen : Presi- 



140 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

•dent, Vice-President, President pro tempore of 
the Senate, Speaker, Chief Justice. 

53. What is the purpose of Article I., Section 
6, Clause 2 of the Constitution? 

54. How do the rights of aliens (subjects of 
a foreign government) , dwelling in this country, 
differ from those of a naturalized citizen? 

55. Who are the United States Senators from 
this State? Who is the Representative of this 
district in Congress? The Judge of the United 
States Court of this judicial district? The Post- 
master of this place ? Name some other United 
States officer in this vicinity. 

56. Which Presidents were re-elected ? Which 
served two terms ? Which died in office ? Who 
succeeded each of them in the Presidential office ? 
What Presidents passed from the office of Secre- 
tary of State to that of President? 

57. Describe the great seal of the United 
States. For what purposes is it used? 

58. Repeat from memory the preamble to the 
Constitution, the first amendment, and the first 
section each of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and 
fifteenth amendments. 

59. Name the authors of the following quota- 
tions : 

(a) " I believe this to be the strongest govern- 



SEARCH LIGHT STUDIES. 141 

ment on earth. I believe it to be the only one 
where every man at the call of the law would 
fly to the standard of the law and would meet 
invasions of the public order as his own con- 
cern." 

(b) "We shall nobly save or meanly lose the 
last best hope of earth." 

(c) "That which contributes most to preserve 
the State is to educate children with reference to 
the State; for the most useful laws, and most 
approved by every statesman, will be of no 
service if the citizens are not accustomed to 
and brought up in the principles of the Constitu- 
tion," 

(d) "It was the purpose of our fathers to 
lodge absolute power nowhere ; to leave each 
department independent within its own sphere ; 
yet, in every case, responsible for the exercise 
of its discretion." 

(e) "Each generation in our history needs to 
be taught what the Constitution is, and what 
the f ramers of it understood it to be at its forma- 
tion." 

(f) "The Constitution has been found suffi- 
cient in the past ; and in all the future years it 
will be found sufficient if the American people 
are true to their sacred trust." 



142 FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

(g) "If a State, 'one of the many/ claims to 
be above the whole, and usurps such power, the 
Nation must suppress it, first by judicial process, 
and if that be not sufficient, then by force." 

(h) "The government of the United States is 
justly deemed the guardian of our best rights, 
the source of our highest civil and political duties, 
and the sure means of our national greatness." 

(i) "The American Constitution is the most 
wonderful work ever struck off at a given time 
by the brain and purpose of man." 

(j) "An instructed democracy is the surest 
foundation of government." 

(k) "Within their own limits they (the States) 
are the guardians of industry, of property, of 
personal rights, and of liberty. But State rights 
are to be defended inside of the Union ; not from 
an outside citadel from which the Union may be 
struck at or defied." 

(I) "Liberty and Union, now and forever, 
one and indivisible." 

(m) "If anyone attempts to haul down the 
American flag, shoot him on the spot." 

60. What did George Washington, President 
of the Constitutional Convention, say that the 
members of that body kept steadily in view in 
all their deliberations ? 



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REFERENCE BOOKS. 



'•Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject our- 
selves or we know where we can find information upon it." 
— Johnson. 



The following works, many of which have been con- 
sulted in the preparation of this volume, are recommended 
to students for perusal and reference : 

Alton's Among the Law Makers. 

American Statesmen Series. 

Andrews's Manual of the Constitution. 

Bancroft's History of the Formation of the Constitution 
—in Vol. VI. of the latest edition of his History of the 
United States. 

Bryce's American Conimomvealth. 

Champlin's Constitution of the U. S. with brief Com- 
ments. 

Cocker's Government of the United States. 

Congressional Directory. 

Congressional Record. 

Curtis's History of the Constitution. 

Dawes's How we are Governed. 

Dole's American Citizen. 

Fiske's American Political Ideas. 

Fiske's Civil Government in the United States. 

Fiske's Critical Period of American History. 

Flanders's Exposition of the Constitution. 

Ford's American Citizen's Manual. 

Frothingham's Rise of the Republic. 

Johnston's History of American Politics. 

Lalor's Cyclopaedia of Political Science. 3 vols. 

Macy's Our Government. 



14S FACTS I OUGHT TO KNOW. 

Maine's Popular Government. 

Martin's Text-Book on Civil Government. 

McCleary's Civics. 

Mead's Constitution of the United States, with Biblio- 
graphical and Historical Notes. 

Mowry's Studies in Civil Government. 

NordhofPs Politics for Young Americans. 

Old South Leaflet Series. 

Peterman's Elements of Civil Government. 

Porter's Outlines of the Constitutional History of the 
United States. 

Sheppard's Constitutional Text Book. 

Story's Commentaries on the Constitution. 

Story's Familiar Exposition of the Constitution. 

The Federalist. 

True and Dickinson's Our Republic. 

Von Hoist's Constitutional History of the U. S. 

Wilson's Congressional Government. 

Wilson's State and Federal Governments. 

Wright's Exposition of the Constitution. 

Young's Government Class Book. 



MEMORABLE DATES. 



July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence 
was adopted. 

September 17, 1787. The Constitution was 
adopted by the Constitutional Convention. 

June 21, 1788, The Constitution was ratified 
by the ninth State, New Hampshire, and thus 
its establishment was assured. 

March 4, 1789. The Constitution went into 
operation. 

December 15, 1791. The first ten Amendments 
were declared in force. 

January 8, 1798. The Eleventh Amendment 
was declared in force. 

September 25, 1804. The Twelfth Amendment 
was declared in force. 

January 1, 1808. The foreign slave trade was 
prohibited after this date by Act of Congress. 

December 18, 1865. The Thirteenth Amend- 
ment was declared in force. 

July 28, 1868. The Fourteenth Amendment 
was declared in force. 

March 30, 1870. The Fifteenth Amendment 
was declared in force. 



THE FLAG. 



The origin of the design of our Hag is not 
definitely known, but it is believed that the 
stars and stripes on Washington's coat of arms 
suggested the propriety of combining the same 
on the national ensign. On the fourteenth of 
June, 1777, the American Congress resolved, 
"That the flag of the thirteen United States be 
thirteen stripes alternate red and white ; that the 
union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, 
representing a new constellation." In 1795, 
after the admission of two new States, the de- 
sign was changed to fifteen stripes and fifteen 
stars. When other States were admitted it was 
evident that the plan of adding a stripe and a 
star for each additional State could not be fol- 
lowed. Congress, therefore, in April, 1818, 
decided that the number of stripes should be 
reduced to the original thirteen, and that for 
each new State admitted to the Union, one star 
should be added to the union of the flag on the 
fourth of July next succeeding such admission. 

Thus the flag is a symbol at once of the origin 
of the Nation and of its present greatness and 
glory. 

LEFe 13 



